Interwoven Destiny
by Kyoui
Summary: The events in which transpire in a medieval world not unlike ours and not unlike the Digital.
1. Chapter One

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
> Scroll to bottom for location of other chapters  
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**Interwoven Destiny: PRELUDE**

There was no explanation for what happened, no reason for why things were how they were. Perhaps it was meant to be this way, perhaps it was meant to be a mystery, and that the truth was not meant to be known or to be understood. He sat staring out across the city wondering how this place came to be, and how he came to be in it. He sat in a small room, only an old bed and a chair decorated it, along with dust and cobwebs and a lone photograph of he and his brother. It was the one relic that remained with him from the Old World.

Across the distance, he could see a group of royal Airdramon flying through the sky. Those of nobility must have graced the compartments strapped to the backs. They flew so majestically in the light blue sky. At that distance, he couldn't hear the trumpeting sound they make when in flight.

So there it had been, several months since appearing in a strange world. A world that was not quite the Digital World, and not quite the Real World. It was a place where both seemed to intermix, in a storybook fairytale setting, filled with magic and strange beings. He looked out across the landscape, it was so medieval, so primitive. His clothes were tattered and his body was filthy. All were signs of his poverty.

So there he was, alone in a world that looked so primitive, and yet held secrets that were farfetched in his world. It had been three months since they opened the Digital Gate, hoping to land in the Digital World as they had done so many times before. He did not appear in the Digital World that he knew. He stood in the Town Square wearing clothes foreign to those around him. He was alone and without his Digivice. Stray Digimon ran about the place causing trouble. Some of the higher-class citizens had rare looking Digimon companions, many of whom he had never encountered in the Digital World.

He found no answers from any of the people around him. As the days went on he learned that he was alone. None of the other Digidestined were around, and none of the Digimon he knew either. He wandered the streets for days trying to find answers, but everyone assumed he was some mad orphaned teenager and brushed him away.

"Yamato!" a voice came from below his tiny attic room.

A jolly woman who owned a small bakery was perhaps the only kind face he saw those first few days. He was sitting hungrily on the sidewalk, and she offered him some bread. He took a job with her, managing the store and washing dishes here and there. She even allowed him to live in the attic above the bakery.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked, sticking his head down the whole in his floor which reached the ground by ladder. It gave him a view of the kitchen, and Flowra, the kind woman who was overweight, adding to the jolly and kind look. She was dressed to go out.

"Could you watch shop for me little one? I must go to market," she said putting a pair of old gloves on.

"Of course, would you rather me go to market for you?" Yamato asked.

She smiled. "I'll be find dear. I'll be back before the nightfall."

He nodded and jumped down to the ground floor. "Take care madam," he said with a bow.

She smiled and patted his head in appreciation. She left the kitchen and went out the front door. Yamato left the kitchen and took a seat by the counter, staring out through the window to those who passed him by, the same people who blurred past day in and day out.

An hour passed, he helped four people with their bakery needs. He treated them kindly and with the utter most politeness. By his standards, this place was much more traditional than his world. This was a place where children gave their elders utmost respect.

He noticed a cloaked man standing outside the bakery. Yamato sat from his careless daydreaming and studied the man who seemed out of place. He seemed lost, and even familiar, but his face was hidden behind his gray cloak.

The man turned and looked into the store. He was a young man, obviously not from the around there. His clothes were very different, styled somewhat like a Japanese kimono. All Yamato could see was the man's blue eyes as he stared a deep gaze. He was looking right at Yamato, which made him a bit uncomfortable.

And as strangely as the man appeared, he was gone again. Lost in a sea of humans and Digimon alike, leaving Yamato sitting and staring and wondering. An hour later, Flowra returned with leather bags filled with the week's groceries. Yamato quickly helped her with her things and soon forgot about the strange man.

**

It was two days later, deep into the afternoon. The crowds were dying down, the hustle of daily life was coming to an end. Soon the sun would go down and Yamato and Flowra would count the day's gold and silver pieces and stash them away before Flowra would make a modest dinner.

He was in the back sweeping the floor when Flowra came in. "Yamato dear."

"Yes, ma'am?" he responded.

"There is a package for you," she was holding a small wooden box addressed to Yamato. "Strangest thing, I turned for but a moment and when I returned to the counter it sat there all alone."

She handed it to him, and he studied it carefully. He opened the cover and gasped as he saw the contents. It was his Digivice and a piece of paper. His hand shook as he carefully took the contents out. It responded to his touch, the LCD screen came back to life showing the time of day.

"A Digivice," Flowra commented. "Those are very expensive these days, you are lucky to get one. I wonder who might have given it to you? Although it is an older style," she added. "Not many people have these anymore, what with those new D-3's they have."

"This is my Digivice, ma'am," he corrected. "I thought I had lost it when I- when I came to this kingdom."

He never told her about the other world. He did not want her to think he was a madman like so many others before her.

"Oh really?" she said. "Where is your Digimon?"

"Gabumon has been lost for quite sometime."

"A Gabumon? Boy, you have never told me these things, like many others. Gabumon are rare, they are usually only seen with nobility!"

"He was my best friend," Yamato said. "I'm not sure what happened to him."

"What does the paper say?"

He slowly opened the paper, crackling and stained yellow. Inside written in old calligraphy read, "Never forget."

  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 1**

Yamato was staring out his window as he did so often. A week or two had passed since he was reunited with his Digivice, but he had no clue of what it meant and what he was suppose to do. The night was calm and the crowds had died down to a few pedestrians here and there. Holding up his Digivice, Yamato saw his reflection on the display, his reflection who was lost in thought.

He had to leave that place. He had to find his friends and his Gabumon. Many times over, he had been lost in the Digital World, facing dangers far greater that could be imagined. But this place he was in now, there was something different about it. Those dangers that existed in the Digital World were here, along with the problems of his world. How would he get anywhere? He had no money, and he had no resources to mount a search for his friends, who could be anywhere in this world, if they were even around. It was not like before, when he could simply ride the back of Garurumon wherever he needed to go.

"Flowra," he said loudly.

"Yes dear?" she called from below in the kitchen.

Yamato stood up and jumped down to the kitchen. "I have to leave, Miss Flowra."

She was mixing batter for a cake that was ordered, wearing a big white apron over her clothes. "Leave? What do you mean?"

"Miss, if I were to tell you my true past, would you promise not to think differently of me?" he asked.

She smiled, "You have nothing to hide from me dear."

"Miss Flowra," he said, looking down to his feet trying to search for the right words. "I do not come from this world. I arrived here by mistake, or by divine intervention. I was with several friends and several Digimon, going to a world populated by only Digimon. But I arrived here instead, and I think that my friends are perhaps scattered across this land. Actually, it's more of a hope."She continued to mix the batter and smiled. Yamato wasn't sure if she believed him. "I- I have to take my leave of you, ma'am. I must find my friends and find out the truth."

"It will be a difficult journey," she said. "This land is filled with dangers, are you sure you are up to it young one?"

"I'd like to think so," he said.

"Alright then," she said. "I cannot keep you here, so I will wish you luck on your journey."

Yamato gave a sigh of relief and moved stray hair out from his face.

She set the bowl down and walked over to Yamato. She patted him on his head. "You were a very good boy, I'm glad I found you." Tears were forming in her eyes, but she wiped them away. "You'll need some money, and some food. Please let me pack some for you before you leave."

"Miss, I wouldn't feel right taking money from you!" he quickly interjected.

"Quiet little one," she said. "I will pack you some food and give you the money that _you_ earned. You'll need them to survive. Can you wait until tomorrow morning before you leave? I must prepare you."

"Of course Miss Flowra," he said.

He went to bed early that night, by suggestion of the miss. He was restless that night, getting only dreamless sleep. Before sunrise, the miss awoke him, where she presented everything he would need for his journey.

"I found this map for you, Yamato," she said. "It has all the settlements for the next 100 sennets." Sennets were a little less than a mile but a little more than a kilometer. "I packed you some food, simple things that won't go bad so soon. Some candy as well. There is a water pouch too, and a clean change of clothing."

She handed the bag to Yamato. He took it graciously and thanked her kindly after he slung it over his shoulder. "It has been an honor to work with you Miss Flowra."

She hugged him tightly and fought back tears and wished him good luck and goodbye. As she walked him out the door, she said, "You be sure to come back to me someday, so I know you are safe."

"I promise it. I'll write whenever time and circumstances allow it." He bowed again and walked away as the sun began to rise across the horizon.

**

Yamato was sitting atop a Seadramon's head. He charted ferry across the bay to the next city of Jintaria about 20 miles across the water. The Seadramon made small talk with Yamato, and could tell that he was a bit uneasy.

"So what's buggin you boy?" the Seadramon asked.

"Nothing much," Yamato said.

"Heh, you seem really distracted."

"It's nothing personal, I just had a bad experience with a wild Seadramon."

"Really?" he seemed surprised. "Wild Seadramon's can be dangerous."

"Yeah," Yamato said dryly.

"You aren't from around here, are you kid?" he asked.

"No, I'm from far away," Yamato said. The coast was far behind them now, and the salt air blew through Yamato's hair. "Have you ever heard of people from other worlds?"

"What's that?" he asked. "I hear a lotta things, kid."

"What about off worlders?"

"Ya hear stories 'bout them 'round the docks. Stories 'bout kids and Digimon poppin outta no wheres."

"Really?" Yamato got a spark of hope. "Do you believe them?"

"Ain't too much to believe, boy. Never saw one for myself. Why do you ask?"

Yamato sighed. "No reason."

"So why you headin' off to Jintaria all lonesome?" he asked.

"Looking for friends," Yamato said. "People I haven't seen in a long time."

"They live there?"

"No," he said. "I don't know where they are."

The Seadramon laughed. "You'll have a good time lookin' for them," he chuckled.

Yamato didn't think it was funny. He laid down across the Seadramon's skull/helmet. His arms dangled past the Seadramon's eyes. "All I have is a Digivice to guide me," he said, pulling his Digivice out of his pocket. "It hasn't been helpful yet."

"How's it gonna help ya?" Seadramon asked.

"Well, if I get close enough to one of my friends, it should be able to tell me. It's worked before."

"Where's your Digimon?" he asked.

Yamato shrugged. "I wish I knew. You wouldn't have seen a Gabumon around lately have ya?"

"Sorry kid," said the Seadramon. "Wish I could help ya. You rich or sumthin? I mean, ya got a Gabumon and a Digivice and everything."

"Nope," he said. "I got nothing."

**

About five miles off the Jintarian coast, Matt got a reading from his Digivice for a split second before the screen went blank. It must have been broken, but in the second that it worked it showed that someone he knew, or rather, once new was somewhere in Jintaria. Yamato asked Seadramon to pick up the pace, they whirred forward cutting through the water like a snake in the grass.

The coast came closer and closer, and the architecture of the city was far different than the city that lay behind. Buildings were majestic, towering over ten stories high. Flying Digimon filled the skies and people, carriages, and four-legged Digimon filled the streets below. This city was obviously a large place of commerce, trade, and other business.

The Seadramon settled at an empty dock reserved for himself.

"There are Digivice archives here," the Seadramon said. "The network has information on any registered Digivices, it might be helpful."

Yamato paid him for his time and then said thank you and goodbye, losing himself in the crowds. Yamato lifted up his Digivice, the screen was back on but only gave the time. With some help and directions Yamato stepped into the small building that would hopefully have some answers.

"What do you want?" the man behind the counter asked. He was dressed well, but messily. A think beard hid his face from Yamato as he grudgingly wrote away with a feather pen.

"Is this where records for registered Digivice users are kept?" Yamato asked politely.

"Yeah," the man said, looking up from his papers. "What's it to you?"

Yamato was getting annoyed with the man's rudeness. "I was hoping if I could take a look at some."

"Go ahead," he said, waving his arms. "I don't care."

Yamato didn't bother to ask for that man's help. He just walked down the hall to the record rooms. He was pretty sure that at least a few of his friends might have registered themselves, hopefully to find the others. He had eleven friends to find. All of them took that trip through the Digital Gate. It was logical that all of them were in that same world. Yamato thought back to that day. It was the first time that all twelve of them took the trip to the Digital World together at once. Along with their Digimon, there were actually 24 of them. Their Digimon had come to the Real World. It was a sort of party since everyone was around.

There was one room of files and hopefully they were up to date. Yamato was annoyed with the archaic environment that he was dropped into. In the Real World, Yamato could have searched the files with the push of a button, since most things were kept on computers these days.

Yamato searched for hours, spending his entire afternoon going though file after file, each one looking like the one before. Each held information about the Digivice's user, the last registered model, and bonded Digimon. Some people had two Digivices and some people had three. Yamato didn't care about them.

He finally found something. It was late into the afternoon, and he had thought he searched through every possible file. He found a name, Yagami Hikari. There was no picture, but the profile matched his friend's younger sister. One D-3 Digivice, a bonded Gatomon, and a D-Terminal. Yamato's heart was beating hard in his chest as he read through her file. She lived on the West Side of the continent, practically on the other side of the world to Yamato.

He sat down and breathed hard, and sat on the floor. It was a good few thousand miles away. How could he even imagine getting there with no money and no status. He felt defeated, it would take him a long time to reach her, and by the time he got there she would probably be gone.

Yamato took out his Digivice. The front was blinking 12:00 AM over and over. He sighed and tried to reset the time but it wouldn't work, The screen flashed and was replaced with a map and then flashed again to another and then back to the time. It was obviously broken.

**

He spent the few silver coins to get his Digivice fixed and walked out of the shop. They offered to sell him a used D-3 cheap but he declined after examining it. He had really hoped that it might have been one of his friend's, but had no such luck.

He stared at the display of his Digivice, then put it on Detect mode. To him, it was something of a miracle when a blue dot appeared on the map. Moreover, the reading was close, somewhere in the city. He followed it through the city into nightfall before finding himself outside of the back of a restaurant.

He opened the back door and peered in.

"Stupid boy!" a man yelled to someone out of Yamato's sight. "You broke another dish! I cannot take this of you anymore!"

"Hey man! Just calm down it was an accident!" a boy yelled back. It was a boy with an annoying voice that was far too familiar to Yamato. "It's not like I didn't do it on purpose or anything!"

"I've had enough of your outright disrespect to me! GET OUT! AND TAKE YOUR DIGIMON WITH YOU!"

"Like I would _want_ to stay here with some crazy lunatic like you! Come on V-mon!" The boy pushed through the back door and ran right into Yamato and they both fell to the ground. "Hey watch it you jerk!"

Yamato pushed him off and exclaimed, "Daisuke!?"

Daisuke sat up on the ground and tried to get his bearings straight, then looked to Yamato. "Matt?"

A blue Digimon walked out of the restaurant behind Daisuke. He looked like a small dragon. "Yamato, is that you?"

The three were beside themselves, reunited after so long. They sat in the alley together and explained what had happened to them. Daisuke and V-mon appeared in that city three months earlier and had to get jobs at that restaurant to support themselves.

"We wanted to go and find you and the others," Daisuke said, "but we barely had enough money to survive. You, you haven't seen any of the others, have you?"

Yamato shook his head. "You're the first. I don't even know where Gabumon is."

They fell silent, and after a few moments, V-mon said, "Well now we can go and find the others."

"I was at the Digivice record archives place," Yamato said. "It said Hikari was living in West Province when she registered."

Daisuke's eyes lit up.

"It's a long way, but it's the only lead we have so far."

Daisuke stood up and shouted, "Then West Province we go! Don't worry Hikari! I'M COMING FOR YOU!!"

V-mon and Yamato both gave a sigh.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: This story kind of borrows from Vision of Escaflowne in the idea of a world that seems medieval but where there is amazing technology run on storybook kind of stuff. This is also my first fanfic that might actually go somewhere based on Digimon and its characters. I hope to have all the 01 and 02 chosen children in it eventually. Please Read and Review! ^_^ Well, that was chapter 1. It wasn't as powerful as I was hoping it could be, but eh. I tried. I'm actually not really sure where this story is going but I have some ideas floating around my head. It's just a matter of putting them down in writing without making it stupid and repetative.


	2. Chapter Two

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
> Scroll to bottom for location of other chapters  
-------------------------  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 2**

A leaf fell from a tree from high above, waving in the air and catching the wind in the shape of a teardrop. It swayed left and right, back and forth, as it made its decent from above to the ground below. A gust of wind blew it off its fall, and it waved in the air for several minutes. It caught itself in the web of a spider, but a stronger gust of wind blew it away. It was tattered now, broken and confused. It's parent tree was far behind, and what lay before was uncertain. It came closer to the ground, falling to its doom. It fell before Yamato, who caught it in mid air.

They were walking through the forest, silent, tired, and annoyed. Jintaria was three days behind them now, and to conserve what little money they had, the three travelers decided to walk through the forest to the next city of Tolleria. V-mon de-evolved back to Chibimon, and sat atop Daisuke's head as they walked. Daisuke didn't mind all too much, although with his spiky hair it might have been less than comfortable for Chibimon.

The West Province was on the other side of the country, on the western coast of the continent. The distance seemed an insane amount to travel, but their one lead to a fellow Chosen Child was somewhere there.

The world as far as Yamato and Daisuke knew was still large and unexplored and primitive. Many countries dotted the land and some where still myth to most people. Distant lands waited to be explored, and although adventure was exciting to Daisuke, the idea of walking all over the world was tiring.

Daisuke breathed hard. "This is so boring, Yamato."

"Yeah, I know."

"Can we please chart a ride to the next city?" he whined.

Yamato's right eye was twitching. "You _know_ that we can't afford it, Daisuke."

"But I'm tired," Daisuke complained.

"Tolleria is only twenty miles away," Yamato said.

Daisuke winced. "That far?"

Chibimon lifted his head up, "You know Daisuke, you sure do complain a lot."

"Tell me about it," Yamato added.

"Hey you aren't one to talk," Daisuke snorted. "You don't have to walk. HEY! How about we make Chibimon evolve so he can fly us there!"

Yamato sighed as he was really getting annoyed. "I told you, Daisuke, we need to keep Chibimon ready to fight in case we get attacked."

"But it won't take that long to fly there, Yamato. Then we could feed him and be ready for the next city," Daisuke complained.

"Yeah, but then you'll just ask to fly to the next city."

"No I won't!" Daisuke exclaimed. "I promise I won't."

Yamato stopped in his tracks and turned to Daisuke. "How do you expect to get _anywhere _always complaining and getting so tired!? We haven't even walked that far and you're already complaining!"

"Hey man!" Daisuke snapped. "I'm just trying to make this easy."

"Well it's not easy, Daisuke!" Yamato was really getting mad at this point. "How could you end up being a Chosen Child?! You wouldn't have lasted a week in the Digital World with our group."

"You know what Yamato, you've just been nothing but a jerk ever since you found me! What is your problem man? Just mellow out!"

Yamato snapped and punched Daisuke in the face. As he started to fall to the ground Chibimon jumped off his head onto the ground. Daisuke winced as he touched his face where Yamato had punched him. Daisuke sat up and looked up to Yamato with teary eyes.

"Okay," Yamato smirked. "We fly with XV-mon to the next city, but after that we walk."

Daisuke was rubbing his face. "Huh?" Chibimon had already evolved to V-mon, and was waiting for Daisuke to give him way. Daisuke grabbed his D-3 and held it out. "Go ahead V-mon."

"V-mon Digivolve to … XV-mon!" XV-mon stood above the smaller trees, about 12 feet tall. He looked like a mature V-mon. Like a large blue lizard with a white belly, along with two silver wings. XV-mon picked Daisuke up and placed him on his right shoulder. Yamato went on the right.

"Okay, hold on you two," he said. His voice echoed even though he spoke softly.

**

"Sorry I punched you back there, kid," Yamato said.

"It's okay," Daisuke's face was now noticeable red. "And I'm not a kid."

Tolleria was like no city Daisuke or Yamato had been to before. Scattered against the horizon, massive solitary buildings cut through the air with miles in between them, leaving lush green spaces in between. Rivers and aqueducts cut through the landscape and passed under massive walkways that seemed to span fifty feet across and go on forever. The architecture of the whole city seemed organic and grown right out of the land.

XV-mon stopped in the air over the city. Close by, a large building sat next to one of the walkways. Very few people could be seen on the streets and everything had an eerie calm to it. They set down next to the large building, and XV-mon reverted back to Chibimon and hopped onto Daisuke.

The few people that they could see wore prestigious robes and carried many scrolls with them. All looked like scholars, and Yamato and Daisuke stood out like sore thumbs. Yamato's pocket was beeping, he quickly took out his Digivice and found that it was beeping the whole time, but unable to hear from flying so quickly in the air.

"What is it?" Chibimon asked. Daisuke took out his D-3, which started to beep as well.

"An old friend, hopefully," Yamato said. "Somewhere in this city. Let's go into this building, find out where we are."

The building within was empty in the sense that there was no one floor. It simple spiraled from the front door and a path curled around the walls of the shell of the building until reaching the ceiling, where a massive stained glass window was held suspended over the empty center. In the middle of this building was a statue of a man holding a book and reaching towards the ceiling. The colored light from the windows above shined over him.

"Hello!?" Daisuke yelled. Yamato glared at him for a moment. "Anybody here?" he shouted.

"Quiet, Daisuke," Yamato snapped. Yamato walked over towards the wall of where the spiral walkway began. The walls were lined with shelves, and all shelves where filled with books and scrolls. Yamato looked forward and then upwards. The entire buildings' walls were lined with books, all the way to the top. This must have been a library of some sort. An unattended library apparently.

"Come on, Daisuke," Yamato said. "No one's in here."

"Look at all these books," Daisuke said, walking around with his head in the air. "Gives me a headache just looking at it." Daisuke rubbed his eyes.

"Let's try another building," Chibimon said.

XV-mon flew them to the next building. All of these buildings were round at the base and towered many stories high. There were variations in the buildings, some were darker colored, some where lighter. It could obviously be seen which were older, as some of the buildings had plenty of plant growth at their bases. A few buildings were totally overgrown with green vines dotted with flowers.

The next building was like the first, filled with books and no people. And now, there were no people on any of the streets. It may have been prudent to ask the few people that they saw earlier. Yamato wondered if they could still find them.

A few miles down there was one large building that looked like none of the others. It was a golden dome surrounded by flat green land dotted with ponds and trees. Walkways cut through the greenery and were totally empty. So many paths but no one on them.

They came to the ground outside the main doors. Around the side of the building was a strip of writing that seemed to circle the entire structure. Each character was about a foot tall and a foot wide. The characters were Digicode and Chibimon could read it, but the words made no sense. There were no guards and there was no indication of this being a forbidden building. Yamato pushed the large doors open and gave way to the interior. Like a punch in the face, the sounds of loud talking cut through the silence that consumed the entire city.

The inside of the dome was a gigantic stadium lined with seats with their own desks. The seats totally surrounded the small stage at the bottom where a man stood and tried to speak over the crowds. Each seat seemed to be filled.

Daisuke held Chibimon in his arms and he followed Yamato in. It seemed to be some sort of forum for discussion. Everyone in the city must have been there. All of them seemed to be scholars. In a moment, they all fell silent and the man at the bottom began to speak again.

Yamato and Daisuke couldn't hear what he was saying, but it was obvious that he was a high figure of that society. Everyone watch him attentively. Yamato squinted to try and see if there was anyone recognized.

No one saw it coming.

Above Yamato and Daisuke, the wall came crashing inward in a blast from the outside. Both were able to jump out of the way of the falling ruble, and when they looked up they saw something neither had expected to see.

A giant Digimon pushed his head through the door. It's skull covered with an exo-skull and horns that looked like tree branches. It was an Airdramon, but not one of the royal ones. People were running all around, screams and shouts filled the massive arena.

Enough of the ceiling had been torn apart that the Airdramon's wings could be seen. "Spinning Needle!" it shouted and its voiced echoed loudly.

Spikes came from its wings and they stormed through the room, hitting several people. Yamato looked up in terror to the beast.

"I have come," the Aidramon said, "by order of my master to destroy and of the Digidestined!"

Daisuke's eyes widened, someone on that world knew of the Digidestined and sought to destroy them.

"Well you'll just have to come and get me!" a shout came from the stadium. Yamato and Daisuke looked down, most of the crowds had filtered out in the madness, and down below one boy stood. Yamato almost didn't recognize him, as the boy wore a heavy black robe and carried scrolls in his hand. The Digimon that stood by his feet was a Tentomon. "Tentomon!"

"Tentomon Digivolve to….Kabuterimon! Quickly Koushirou, get under cover!" Kabuterimon said. The insect champion jumped forward and pushed the Airdramon out of the dome and outside where they could battle.

"Koushirou!" Yamato yelled at the top of his lungs.

The boy looked up. His red hair had started to grow long and draped over his eyes. He stared up at Yamato for a moment until he realized who it was. Joy came onto his face as he waved with both his arms, "Yamato! Daisuke!"

"Chibimon, go help Kabuterimon," Daisuke said. Chibimon evolved and jumped out of the building and went to fight along side Kabuterimon. Yamato and Daisuke ran down the remaining stairs dodging the large chunks of stone and wood until they met Koushirou. Yamato threw his arms around his old friend.

"I thought I'd never see you guys again!" Koushirou said. "Where did you come from?!"

"Well, it all started-" Daisuke began.

"Not now Daisuke!" Yamato snapped. He grabbed Koushirou by the arm, "C'mon, we need to be out there."

"Koushirou nodded and they ran outside.

XV-mon and Kabuterimon both took to the air around Airdramon. Kabuterimon used his Mega Blaster attack and electrocuted the Airdramon, and before it was able to totally recover, XV-mon used X-Laser. A beam of light shaped like an X came from his chest and struck the Airdramon on its head and it started to fall from the sky.

It hit the ground hard and twitched for a moment before its data reconfigured and the creature disappeared. Kabuterimon and XV-mon came back down to the ground and reverted back to Tentomon and V-mon. Tentomon saw Yamato and Daisuke and ran over and jumped into Yamato's arms.

"Yamato! We finally found you!" he said. Yamato smiled and patted him on the head before setting him down.

"It's good to see you too."

**

Koushirou, Yamato, and Daisuke all sat in the grass outside of the home of the teacher that had taken Koushirou in. Their Digimon were not far away. When he arrived in that world he found himself inside a library. Before he even began to question where he was and why he was there, a book was in his hands and he was in it very deeply despite Tentomon's complaints.

By night, a man asked him what he was doing there, that there were no children in the city of Tolleria. It was a city of scholars, of people who spent all their time learning more about the world around them, and for whom had no time to raise families.

Koushirou was in a world where he didn't belong. "I don't come from here," Koushirou said to the man.

"It is quite obvious to me, my young man," he said. "Your clothing is quite foreign, and your Digimon companion is rare and royal."

"Well, I'd like to think I was special," Tentomon said.

"I mean," Koushirou said. "I don't think this is my world. I don't think I belong here."

"You intrigue me, boy," the man said. "Please, tell me your story."

He was an enlightened man, and he hung on Koushirou's every word. Each story about the Real World and the Digital World was more and more interesting to him. He asked Koushirou if he had any place to stay, which was a stupid question either way. "You must stay with me in my home. You have no place to go."

"Oh, I couldn't impose," he said.

"No, no," he said. "I can tell you have a great mind. You must learn our ways if you wish to survive in this world. Tolleria is a city of knowledge. We are all scholars here, and we spend our time attempting to understand our world. Please, I insist."

Koushirou excepted. It was too early to find his friends if they were around. He had no way to find them. Perhaps with the help of his new friend and the other minds of that city, he could get close to being reunited with his old friends.

**

"It's safe to assume that we are all somewhere on this world," Koushirou said. "You've already confirmed that Hikari is or was somewhere on the Western Province. If we keep looking, then eventually we may all be reunited and then find some way to get home."

"So you'll come with us to the west, right Koushirou?" Daisuke asked.

"Of course," he said. "Just give me a few days to prepare. A trek that far must be prepared for."

Yamato stared out into the stars. "That Airdramon said he was looking for the Digidestined. Who on this world would know we were Digidestined?"

They fell silent.

"Maybe one of the others was captured by evil forces," Koushirou said.

"But why would they want us?" Yamato said.

Koushirou shrugged. "Maybe it was one of the others."

Daisuke looked up sharply. "Don't even think that."

Yamato looked out into the sky and thought about those words.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Well, so they found Koushirou. This chapter kind of wavered and didn't seem all that good to me but I'll let readers judge it. Please review ^_^  
  



	3. Chapter Three

-------------------------  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
> Scroll to bottom for location of other chapters  
-------------------------  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 3**

"I'm very sorry to hear that you must take your leave of us," the man said. He was about fifty and the signs of his age were apparent. "Please say that you will return to us someday."

"I promise it," Koushirou said. "But, I won't be leaving yet. I must prepare for the journey."

"Please," the man said. "Ask for any help you may need. I can arrange passage for you to the next city on the next convoy of Kuwagumon."

Koushirou smiled and nodded. "It would be much appreciated. I am thankful that you were the first person I met on this world."

The old man closed his eyes and smiled. "I am thankful as well. The next caravan should be here in less than a week. May I assume that you will be prepared by then?"

"Yes sir," Koushirou said. The boy bowed and said, "If you don't mind, I will be off to attend to matters."

The old man nodded. Koushirou walked out of his caretaker's study and stopped at the door. "Thank you Tallas."

"Go on now," the man waved.

**

"This was the library that I materialized in," Koushirou explained. He and Yamato were halfway up the path that spiraled around the inside of the building. "This is a geographical library. There is information on every discovered city of every discovered country on this world. Information down to the last detail. Some of it is obscure though, like the scrolls."

Yamato nodded. He didn't really care. He was tired from walking up the spiral pathway, circle after circle. "So what do you need to take with us?"

"Well," Koushirou said, "besides the obvious things like food and clothes and stuff, I'm not really sure. What kind of stuff did we need when we were in the Digital World?"

"A way home," Yamato joked. "I guess a map. But I already have one."

"Perhaps I could get more maps. They might come in handy."

"We could use money, too. Gold pieces, things of value, ya know?"

"Yes, I was thinking about that." Koushirou thought for a moment. "They don't have a system of money here. There is a main treasury that's only used for trade of supplies. I guess I could request a loan."

"Would they let you?"

"Most likely. I've kinda made a name for myself here these past few months," Koushirou said. "I'm kinda sad to leave it behind."

Yamato patted Koushirou on his back. "It'll be alright. We'll come back eventually. Say, what happened to your computer?"

"The batteries ran out," Kourshirou said dryly. "I haven't been able to use it in a while. Not that it was any good to me here when it _did_ work."

"Try and catch me V-mon!" they heard Daisuke yell from below. He was running up the spiral, looking back at V-mon who chased him. "C'mon, you're so slow!"

"Daisuke this is stupid!" V-mon complained.

Daisuke ran faster and didn't see Yamato and Koushirou ahead and ran into them. The crash threw Daisuke over the railing of the spiraled path.

"Daisuke!" Yamato and Koushirou yelled as they ran to the railing.

"Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!"

V-mon jumped over the rail and shouted, "V-mon digivolve to…XV-mon!" and as he evolved, silvery wings appeared on his back. XV-mon caught Daisuke before he could hit the ground, then carefully set him down.

Yamato gave a sigh of relief, "Tai was never that much trouble."

Koushirou laughed.

"Koushirou, have you ever had to fight any bad Digimon here?"

He shook his head. "This place has been pretty peaceful. That Airdramon that attacked us was the first."

"Something about that bothers me," Yamato said.

"What?"

"Airdramon are vaccine types, right?"

"Yeah."

"So it shouldn't have attacked us. Vaccine types are always good unless controlled."

"Maybe attributes here are different."

"Maybe," Yamato said distantly. "What if Ken turned bad again?"

Koushirou didn't say anything.

"We don't know what could have happened to him here. And that Airdramon knew we were Digidestined, someone had to have sent him that knew who we were."

"But it didn't have a dark ring or anything."

Yamato sighed. "Who knows? We shouldn't have let Kabuterimon and XV-mon destroy it. We could have gotten some answers from it."

Koushirou leaned against the railing. Daisuke was now walking up the path. "This place is dangerous. There are only three of us and two our Digimon. Neither of which can evolve past Champion level. What if we were to be attacked by Ultimate or Mega leveled Digimon."

"I guess we'll have to wait until that happens," Yamato sighed.

Daisuke made his way back up to the two, a bit embarrassed. "So what's up?"

**

"The caravan has two stops before they reach New Topalla," Tallas said. "There they will restock and prepare for another supply run to other installations. I suggest you search through New Topalla. It's a very large city, perhaps you will find some of your friends there."

Koushirou shook his hand. "Thank you, sir. You have been more than helpful."

"The least I could do," he said. Tallas pulled Koushirou close and gave him a hug, the first real show of affection that he displayed to the boy. "Good luck my boy. Find what you seek."

Koushirou bowed. "It's been good to know you." He jumped into one of the carriages that the Kuwagumon pulled. Yamato and Daisuke were already inside, and they waved to Tallas and also thanked him for his help. There were seventeen Kuwagumon, all pulling along wheeled crates filled with supplies for the places on their route. There was one covered carriage that Daisuke, Yamato, Koushirou, Tentomon, and V-mon rode along in.

"So you boys headed to New Topalla?" one of the Kuwagumon said. He had a very raspy and rugged voice.

"That's right," Daisuke said.

"It should only take us a few days non-stop give'r take," the Kuwagumon said. "Sometimes my buddies here can lag up, ya know?"

They heard grumbles from the other Kuwagumon.

"See, I'm their leader," he said. "They listen to me. Since I'm the one that handles the pay." He chuckled.

More grumbles.

"Anyway," he continued. "We're gonna stop at a Monastery about 20 miles up. We can rest there for a night if ya like."

"Oh we wouldn't want to keep you," Yamato said.

"Suit yourself," he said. "We are at your service, since you are friends with the Tallas. He's a good man."

The others agreed.

**

As it turned out, the Kuwagumon decided to stay at the Monastery through the night, since it had already been dark at their arrival. It was a secluded building deep into the forest hidden beneath tall trees and darkness. There were four main buildings, all with trails leading to each other. One building was larger than the other three, plainly decorated except for elaborate stained glass windows one the chapel side. Hidden within was a large courtyard with a tree growing out the middle.

Daisuke lay on the grass at the foot of the tree staring up to the skies. Although he always seemed like the dense and stupid and irrational Chosen Child, he still took the time to enjoy the things the others never thought he cared about. The sky was very clear that night, a deep and dark blue dotted with twinkling stars. To the west a shooting star flickered through the sky for a fraction of a second.

The constellations of that world were so different to the ones back home. Nothing was familiar in that world, and to that day, Daisuke still found himself lost and unable to find one way from another.

Across the courtyard, Yamato stood in the shadows of a long corridor. He watched Daisuke lying lazily across the grass at that late hour. A monk approached him and placed a hand on Yamato's shoulder. He was cloaked in a tan robe that draped over his whole body. He reminded Yamato of a young Gennai.

"What bothers you, child?" the monk asked.

Yamato sighed. "My friend out there," Yamato motioned in Daisuke's direction. "He's trouble."

"Oh, how so?"

"He's young. He doesn't think. He's a lot like me when I was that age."

The monk chuckled. "You still have some growing up to do yourself my boy."

"Yeah, I know. But Daisuke worries me. He's going to get in trouble one of these days. He just doesn't think sometimes. My friend Taichi was a lot like him."

"What is Taichi like now?" the monk inquired. His voice went up a bit at the AI part of Tai's name.

"Last time I saw him, he was a lot like me."

The monk smiled. "You should give the young Daisuke some time to grow. With age comes wisdom, I'm sure he will meet your expectations."

Yamato looked back out to the courtyard. "I'm not sure about him though. He just doesn't think."

"Could it be he does not think the way you wish him to think?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"This is a dangerous world we live in," he said. "I'm afraid boys have to learn the trials of this life far too early on. They do not have the time to be innocent, to be a child. Let him be for now, he'll come around."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The monk smiled. "I am merely an agent of the higher powers." The monk bowed to Yamato and then turned and disappeared into the darkness to which he had arrived. Yamato looked back out to Daisuke, who was still lying at the base of the tree. Yamato walked out slowly and quietly, and it wasn't until he was at Daisuke's feet before he noticed him.

"Hey," Yamato said. Daisuke nodded to him and looked back up to the stars. Yamato say down next to him and said, "What are you looking at?"

"The stars. It's really clear tonight." Daisuke paused, then looked to Yamato. "Hey, do you- do you- do you hate me, Yamato?"

There was shock to that question, Yamato couldn't really believe that he asked it. "No, 'course not. What made you think that?"

Daisuke looked back up to the sky. "I just get the feeling, that you think that I'm just a stupid kid and that you hate me."

"Nah," Yamato said. "You're okay. It's your sister I'm worried about."

Daisuke managed a smile, but he was still uneasy. Yamato wondered if he had really been so harsh to Daisuke that it would make him think that he hated him. He cursed himself for being so hard on the young one.

"I'm not a kid, ya know. I'm a Chosen Child too," Daisuke finally said. "I wouldn't have been chosen if I were just a stupid kid."

"I know," Yamato said. "You aren't a stupid kid. I guess I've been kind of hard on you."

"Do you hear that?" A question that came out of no where.

"What?"

"Razor Claw!" they heard from outside the walls of the holy building. There was a crash and an explosion and screams. Daisuke and Yamato sprung up and ran to the nearest doors yelling for Koushirou, V-mon, and Tentomon. They were outside in a matter of seconds, to see the convoy of Kuwagumon trying to defend themselves against a large Gigadramon as he pointed his arm at the pack.

"Genocide Gear!" he shouted. It echoed through the silence of the forest. The blast of his attack knocked two of the Kuwagumon out and deleted two others. The remaining four continued to use their attacks on the Gigadramon, but with little effect.

The Gigadramon looked down and saw Koushirou, Yamato, and Daisuke and pointed his other arm at them. He recognized them as the Digidestined, and said, "Guilty Claw!"

The blast came at them, and Tentomon and V-mon both evolved to Kabuterimon and XV-mon, protecting their human friends behind. But the blast knocked them both down, and XV-mon landed on Daisuke.

"Kabuterimon Digivolve to … Mega Kabuterimon!" he shouted. "Horn Buster!"

XV-mon pulled himself up and looked down at Daisuke. "Daisuke, are you okay?" he pleaded.

Daisuke sat up with the wind knocked out of him. "Huh?"

Yamato and Koushirou pulled Daisuke up. When all looked okay, XV-mon jumped out forward to Mega Kabuterimon and Gigadramon, only to get a claw struck against him. XV-mon flew downward and struck the side of the monastery, creating a gaping hole into the courtyard within. A moment later he flew back out and went back to Gigadramon.

"XV-mon you have to Digivolve!" Daisuke pleaded as his two friends tried to pull him back. He broke free and ran out into the open, holding his D-3 out towards XV-mon. "You have to Digivolve!"

"Daisuke!" he said, looking back to his human counterpart.

"Genocide Gear!" Gigadramon shouted, directing his attack towards Daisuke. With every fraction of a second, the blast of fire and ice and metal and horror came closer and closer to Daisuke, who was frozen in terror.

"Daisuke!" XV-mon shouted. He threw his own body in front of the attack and got hit with the full force of it. But it was too much for him, as the attack threw XV-mon back and he hit Daisuke again and they both carried the burn of Gigadramon.

"Horn Buster!" Mega Kabuterimon yelled.

The remaining four Kuwagumon used their Razor Claw attacks and along with Mega Kabuterimon they managed to subdue the Gigadramon. Seeing himself beat, the Gigadramon lefts as quickly as it came. None of the others bothered to follow him.

**

The morning air was damp and warm as the sun slowly rose across the horizon. Yamato sat by Daisuke's bed as the room filled with the new day's sunlight. It had been this way for several days now. Ever since the attack, Daisuke had been unconscious. Luckily, the Gigadramon had not returned to finish what he started. The monks and the nuns did all that they could for Daisuke, setting his broken bones and covering his wounds with herbs and bandages.

But he had didn't wake up.

Yamato awoke from his dreamless sleep and was disoriented for a moment. He looked down to Daisuke, who in his bandages and stitches looked so innocent and helpless. Yamato stood up and walked over to Daisuke and placed his hand on his forehead which seemed to be an automatic motion.

Daisuke's eyes slowly opened and he looked up to Yamato. "Hey," he said weakly.

Yamato smiled. "Hi."

"What happened?"

"XV-mon fell on you."

"Is he okay?"

"He's a little burned, and really tired. Out of commission for a few days. Hey, how do you feel?"

"Tired," he said. Daisuke looked up, "And I can't feel my legs."

Yamato's eyes shifted. "You'll be okay."

But Daisuke wasn't okay. What was left of the caravan of Kuwagumon left that day, leaving Daisuke, and his friends behind. Not because they were insensitive, but that it was important that they return to the city and report what had happened, and to mourn the loss of their friends lost in the battle.

Two days later, Daisuke still couldn't not leave his bed. Nothing below his waist seemed to work right, and although he managed to sit up and move his arms, he couldn't get out of bed. The nuns nursed Daisuke back to strength and everything seemed well other than his legs. He still had two broken ribs and a sprained wrist.

Two weeks later, Yamato was sitting on Daisuke's bed. Neither of them said anything, they just stared down at the sheets below them. Daisuke's legs had no power in them, and although he could move them just slightly, the idea of him walking or running or kicking a soccer ball seemed like a fairy tale.

Daisuke looked up, "Yamato, you have to leave."

"What are you talking about."

Daisuke fought back tears, as his eyes seemed to glaze. He looked away to hide his emotion from Yamato. "You, you can't stay here and wait for me to get better when you know that I won't get better. You and Koushirou go off and find the others."

"No way," Yamato said. "That's out of the question. We aren't leaving you behind."

Daisuke looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Please, Yamato. I, I'm no use to you like this. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine here. The nuns like me, and I don't think the monks have any big grudges on me." He tried to make a smile.

Yamato stared at him. "It's too risky. We can't start splitting up just as we started to find each other."

"Yamato, you know I'll be here waiting. You find the others, and then come back. V-mon will be here to protect me and the Monastery, don't worry."

Yamato stared at him, drilling into his head with his eyes of both confusion and realization. "Me and Koushirou will leave after your bones are healed."

Daisuke smiled. "Okay."

It was his selfless act. In Yamato's eyes, Daisuke would never be that stupid kid that always thought through his fists and never through his brains. He took one for the team that day and it was understood that forever from that moment, Daisuke was a man. Daisuke looked up to Yamato with eyes of innocence that shielded Yamato from the pain and hurt and terror that filled Daisuke's soul.

The goodbyes were short and simple. They tried their best to show as little emotion as possible, because this was not a time when one should cry. A road of hope lay ahead, and although the paths were now split between the small group, the end would ultimately be at the same place. Two paths would be one someday, and Daisuke and Yamato and Koushirou would be reunited with their friends, and each other.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Sorry this chapter jumped around a lot. I wrote it over the course of two or three days because I kept getting writers block. Towards the end the paragraphs seemed to lack some depth, but ah well. The story continues my friends! And no, there is no hidden or hinted Daisuke x Yamato. Hehe. Chapter 4 is coming soon.....i hope.


	4. Chapter Four

-------------------------  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
> Scroll to bottom for location of other chapters  
-------------------------  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 4**

The leaves of the courtyard tree had browned and yellowed and reddened, and with each passing day they fell from above to the lifeless ground below. The scent of change and transition filled the forest, as the surface became covered with lifeless leaves that lost their touch with the trees from which they sprouted. The winds were no picking up from the east, assisting in the autumn's fall of leaves.

The summer had passed without event. Each day came and went with no news from beyond, no sign that those friends that left him so long ago had any success in the mission they set out to complete three months ago.

Daisuke sat in the makeshift wheelchair that the nuns and monks had given him. He stared up to the naked tree above that sat in the middle of the courtyard. Daisuke's hope was dying, just like those leaves that fell from above. He saw the last leaf at the top of the tree, on a desolate and lonely branch. With another gust of wind, the leaf fell and came to the ground before Daisuke.

With that leaf, Daisuke had lost all hope in his friends. They were never going to succeed. They would never return. Daisuke sighed and stared at the ground. His body had become frail over these months, loosing weight and muscle from the lack of movement and exercise. He'd never play soccer again, that much was certain.

"Daisuke," a voice said from behind. Daisuke didn't bother to look up. "Are you okay, Daisuke?"

"I'm fine, V-mon," he said. All feeling in his voice was gone, all the emotion and hope that he once had. He was now an empty shell of a body, carrying the ghost of the boy he once was. Daisuke pushed along the wheels and slowly left the courtyard, a loud squeaking of his chair breaking the silence of the fall.

V-mon sighed and watched his friend roll away into the darkness.

**

Staring out the window as the sunset upon the horizon of the forest, Daisuke showed no sign of emotion on his dead and pale face. His eyes half open, half shut, staring out across the world that destroyed his life.

His partner Digimon walked into the room, not knocking or announcing his arrival. To do so would have made little difference, it was doubtful that Daisuke would even notice. He saw Daisuke staring out through the window alone in the empty room. Bright orange and yellow light giving the only signs of life.

It tore V-mon's heart to see his friend the way he was. Every day was spent with Daisuke staring out at the tree or sitting at his window. The nuns and monks alike all tried to cheer Daisuke up the same as V-mon, but no one could reach him. It seemed that all hope for Daisuke was lost.

"They aren't coming back," Daisuke said. "They'll never come back."

It was the longest sentence that V-mon had heard Daisuke say in a long time. "Of course they will. They've got too."

"No!" Daisuke yelled. "It's hopeless!" He rested his head against the window and started to cry. V-mon wasn't sure what to do, other than pat Daisuke on the shoulder. "They're all dead. All of them. Me and you are the only one's left."

"Daisuke, don't say that," V-mon said.

"Why shouldn't I," he snapped. "They left us here so they could die alone."

"What is making you think these things?"

"It's the only reason they wouldn't come back. They should have been back by now. All of them."

"Maybe they just haven't found everyone yet."

"No V-mon, you're wrong." Daisuke glared at V-mon, in with one fast and swift motion, the back of Daisuke's hand struck V-mon across the face and knocked him away. "Leave me alone."

V-mon had never been struck by his human counterpart before. V-mon stared at Daisuke for a moment before leaving the room with his head held down.

**

V-mon stood before two of the monks that spent the most time caring for Daisuke. He was holding his face where Daisuke had struck him. The spot on his face that showed how dire the situation was, and that action must have been taken.

"What is it you want to do?" one of the monks asked.

"I have to take him away," V-mon said. "This place is killing him. His physical therapy hasn't been going well, we all know that, but I can't let this place destroy my best friend."

"It will be a difficult journey, young one," the other monk said. "Where will you go?"

"It doesn't matter," V-mon shook his head. "He can't stay confined to these walls anymore."

The two monks exchanged looks and then gazed back down upon V-mon. "You have our blessing to take the young one. But be cautious my friend, you are both being hunted by a power that none of us are aware of."

V-mon bowed to them. "I promise to take care of Daisuke." He smiled, "It's my destiny to. Should our friends return, please tell them what happened here today."

They nodded.

**

XV-mon held Daisuke to his chest as flew high above the forest as fast as he could. The air blew through Daisuke's hair but he dared not open his eyes. The same look of emptiness covered his face and shrouded him with the darkness of pain and suffering. For several hours they flew, XV-mon did his best to try and get Daisuke's attention.

They came upon a kingdom, a large and massive one. In the center stood a majestic castle that towered above the other smaller but still quite elaborate buildings. Each building lined with gold and jewels and many other treasures. The skies were alive with flying Digimon and levitating carriages.

"Daisuke," XV-mon said. "Look, Daisuke."

He managed to open his eyes slightly and he stared down to the kingdom that stood only a half-mile away. He stared for a moment to a glint of light appeared in his eyes. XV-mon and Daisuke both stared out to the city of hope, the city that might bring back the hope that Daisuke had lost and forgotten.

The left side of his lip curled up, and Daisuke managed to give a weak smile.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Talk about a short chapter. Hehe, it wasn't what I was hoping to do but well, eh.


	5. Chapter Five

-------------------------  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
> Scroll to bottom for location of other chapters  
-------------------------  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 5**

He lay lazily and sleepily wrapped in a comforter of the finest down in the kingdom. It provided much heat even in the coldest of nights in the empty and unheated castle. It was like resting in pure happiness, if happiness could have been replaced or substituted with warmth and softness. It was already past sunrise; Takeru had slept in.

"TK," a voice said. The voice was nudging at his shoulder softly at first, but soon picked up as the voice raised in urgency. "Wake up Takeru!"

He squinted in the sunlight and looked up upon his orange friend that continued to shake him. He slowly brushed aside the stray blonde hairs that covered his eyes before yawning and stretching. "Morning, Patamon," he said with a smile.

"Takeru you slept in, you'll be late to breakfast!" Patamon exclaimed. "Quick!Get up!" he pleaded.

"Relax," Takeru said as he scratched at his chest. "We won't be late."

**

"You are late, Takeru," a woman said. She sat at the head of a long table that spanned the entire room. Far from her, Takeru sat at the other side of the long table. Quite elaborate for just the two of them and Patamon who sat at the middle of the table.

"My apologies, your highness," he said with a bow. "I overslept."

She smiled. "It's all right my boy."

He smiled and waved to her like a young child would. They were an unlikely pair, Takeru and the Queen. For several weeks upon entering the New World, Takeru found him self a starving and homeless orphan boy. It was by mere chance and luck that he would save the life of the Queen on the kingdom that he lived.

It was an attack by a neighboring and rival kingdom called Rossteria. Waves of Devidramon were sent with the sole purpose to level the city and destroy the royal family. Only hours into the attack, the city burned and the King and his heirs were dead. Their Guardian and partner Digimon had been deleted. The royal guard of Leomon were brought down to their knees, leaving only the queen with little hope for her own survival.

And as if sent from above and beyond, and angel stood before her spinning a staff of good and justice. One by one, he destroyed the attacking Devidramon, each falling to the ground like flies before disappearing into digital code.

"Who are you?" the queen shouted.

"A friend," the angel said to her. The only part of his face visible to her was the smile that was not covered by the steel helmet with the cross across the front. A radiance surrounded him and he glowed to the point where the queen could no longer look to him without shielding her eyes. And when the light passed, the angel was gone and a small orange Patamon flew down to a blonde boy who could not have been more than thirteen or fourteen.

The queen walked up to the peasant boy, his clothes were tattered and even burned in some places. "Is this your Patamon, boy?"

"Yes, your highness," he said respectfully staring down to the ground. "Please forgive my lady, for I could not save your family and Guardians." He held his head down in shame.

She lifted his head up by the chin so that she could gaze upon is ice blue eyes for but a moment. "My boy, you have saved this kingdom. And although I am filled with the anguish of the death of my family, I must invite you to my house, so that you may take their place."

"Your highness, forgive my ignorance, I don't understand."

"You will never be hungry again, young boy."

Over the passing months, the kingdom was rebuilt, and Takeru became the Prince of Qualaria, despite the protest from the royal advisors of the queen and former king. The queen listened to none of the accusations that a poor peasant orphan could never become leader of their land, and that his peasant blood would taint the royal family line.

But she introduced him as Prince Takeru to her people, the boy who saved them all, and there was an uproar of cheers and shouts for him.

He spent every day learning the rules to what it was to be prince, things that he should have been learning since his birth. Soon, a daily routine had asserted itself, breakfast with the queen, studies with the mathematics and humanities scholars. Following this was lunch with the queen and her court, studies with the mastery and artisan scholars, tea with the queen and her court. A short time after which of break and relaxation, royal dinners with the queen, her court, and their advisors along with any guests, and then nightly etiquette studies with the queen's highest advisor. She would teach him all the rules of speech and respect that any prince must know.

"Takeru," the queen said.

"Yes?"

"Next week we will be going to Illaria," she said.

"Whatever for?"

Her eyes strayed from left to right, uneasy of what to tell him. "We are visiting the royal family there to, to," she took a deep breath. "To arrange that you marry their princess."

Takeru choked on his food and looked up to the queen. "Pardon?"

"Takeru," she said. "I have come to see you as a son and my Prince. And as prince, there are some responsibilities that you must partake."

Takeru swallowed as the color began to leave his face. "I, I understand." He dared not oppose her, it was neither his place nor his right to want anything other than what the queen gave him. It's true that Takeru and Patamon had saved her that fiery hot summer day, but the truth was the queen had saved him. He would have probably starved out there alone.

"After your marriage, Takeru, you and your bride will take my place as King and Queen of our kingdom after I die, which could happen at any time."

"Please, your highness. You are anything but old or unhealthy."

She smiled. "There is always the chance."

Takeru ate the rest of his meal silently, exchanging looks with Patamon now and then. Later on after all his studies and tea, Takeru was lying in the grass in the royal courtyard. It was late into autumn and somewhat cool out in the open of the elements. Patamon flew down and sat on Takeru's stomach.

"Takeru's go a girlfriend," he teased.

Takeru sighed and looked up to the overcast sky, seeing images of his brother and Hikari and the rest of his friends in his mind. "I guess we'll never leave this place."

"Do you still think that the others are still out there?" Patamon asked.

"I don't know anymore. This world is so big, there's no way to know if anyone is still around."

Patamon sulked and rested his head against Takeru's chest. "I miss the others."

"Yeah, so do I." Takeru said. "I wish we could go find them."

"Why don't we? The two of us could run away and find them. We've done it before in the Digital World."

"We couldn't do that to the queen," Takeru shook his head. "Not after all she's done for us."

Patamon sighed and reluctant agreement and rested his head back. "I wonder what this girl is like."

Takeru wondered the same thing as he continued to stare up to the sky. He had always hoped that his friends would somehow find him in the city. Takeru was prince of a prominent district of a high powered country. There was little reason why the others could have not heard of him. With this news of an arranged marriage, it became clear to Takeru that he could never leave the kingdom. He could never go back to the Old World. This was his home now, there was no doubt about that.

The next few nights filled with unrest, and the days that followed were vacant and meaningless to Takeru. All of his teachers could see that his mind was elsewhere, most likely on thoughts of the princess, his future wife.

"I see thoughts of love in your eyes," the queen's advisor said to him. She was a young woman, shapely and attractive. She was always playful with Takeru, like an older sister. She rubbed his head roughly as he daydreamed through her lesson.

"Are you crazy? I don't even know this girl. How could I love her already?"

She smiled. "I'm sure you'll adore her. Or at least, she'll adore you."

He blushed faintly and looked up to her. "I wonder what she looks like."

"That matters not, boy," she said.

"Do you know anything about her?" he asked.

She thought for a moment and closed her lesson book. She grabbed a chair and took a seat in front of Takeru. "Well," she said. "I have heard that she is not much of a lady. She acts as if she were a soldier."

Takeru swallowed and listened to her every word. "I heard that she even fought in a battle against a rival Duchy with her angel Digimon."

"An angel?" Takeru asked.

"Yes, very few are blessed with an angel Digimon Guardian. I hear she has a Cherubimon or something of that sort."

Takeru sighed.

"What bothers you?"

"Oh, nothing. An angel Digimon reminded me of someone I once knew."

"Who? A girl?" she teased. When Takeru blushed, which was enough of an answer to her. "Who was she?"

"A friend," Takeru sighed. "Nothing more. Her Guardian was an Angewomon. I fought by her side several times in our youth. Her name was Hikari."

"What became of her?"

Takeru shrugged. "She was lost to me when I came to this kingdom, as were the rest of my friends."

"Well," she said. "All else I know of the princess is that her name is Kieka and that she's around your age."

"At least she's the same age," Takeru said. "That might make things easier."

**

Illaria was two days trip across the land on the royal airship that stayed afloat high above the land utilizing levitation crystals that could be found in the air, which they naturally appear. It has never been known why they float or how, or even where they came from. But it is clear that when heated, these stones rise with cold and sink with heat. Flying Digimon merchants usually control the market for levitation crystals. Their true power was still unknown and untapped. There were myths that the levitation crystals were the hearts or power sources of the most powerful Mega leveled Digimon from the past that protected the world from evil, but they were only legends.

They took the grandest of their ships to impress the royal family of Illaria. The vessel spanned nearly 200 feet from bow to stern and housed seven levels of rooms for which to entertain guests, sleep during the night hours, and simply live in luxury. The lower levels of the ship housed the crystals that kept them afloat, and with the use of burning coal and wood, could be controlled to ascend and descend.

Takeru stood at the railing at the front of the airship. Three large Airdramon pulled the floating ship through the air at a calm and steady pace. The movement of their wings along with the acceleration of the ship blew cool and refreshing air through Takeru's hair as he stared out at the clouds.

Patamon came down and sat on the railing and smiled at Takeru. "How's it going, TK?"

Takeru sighed. "I'm just nervous I guess. I've never been married."

"You wont be getting married just yet, TK," Patamon corrected. "We're only going to the engagement."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just thought that I would end up marrying Kari someday."

Patamon giggled. "How cute, TK like Kari."

"Like you didn't know," Takeru scoffed. He gave Patamon a gently push and he fell off the railing over the side of the ship before turning around and resting his back against it. Patamon's wings spread wide and he flew upwards, landing on Takeru's head.

"It's getting cold," Patamon complained. "Winter is coming."

Takeru stared vacantly at nothing in particular. "I wish the others were here. I wish my mom were here too. I wanted her to see me get married."

Patamon covered Takeru's face with his wings and said, "They'd be here if they knew."

Takeru sighed. "At least you're here."

They heard a loud scream behind them. Takeru swung around so quickly Patamon nearly fell off. The three Airdramon were flapping their wings erratically and in a mad frenzy. Ahead of them was a dark Digimon shaped like a rabbit over half the size of the airship itself. It had a dirty quality to it, looking as if it had rolled through mud and dirt with fir filled with body oils tattered with the lack of bathing. It had an evil look to its face, its eyes without pupils, only an eerie yellow.

It raised its right arm that was large, about as long as its entire body and swung at the three Airdramon. He struck them with such force that the chains that attached them to the ship were broken as if string. They were all knocked unconscious and fell helplessly through the clouds and out of sight.

It pointed at Takeru, who was frozen in terror. Patamon jumped off of Takeru's head yelled, "Patamon Digivolve to … Angemon!"

Behind Takeru he could hear screams from those who rode with the ship, one voice was clearly the queen's. "Takeru get out of there quickly!"

He was frozen as he stared at the dark Digimon. Angemon flew forward and punched at the beast's chest yelling, "Hand of Fate!" But the attack did little to phase the monster. The Digimon swung at Angemon like a stray fly and hit him hard with the back of its arm like a rag doll.

Angemon fell backwards screaming through the clouds till his voice could no longer be heard. The black Digimon turned back to Takeru, who still stood motionless on the deck of the ship. The nemesis raised its arm upwards again, and struck down upon the deck, breaking the planks, shattering the ground on which Takeru stood. He fell without knowing what had occurred, only seeing the monster get smaller and smaller as he fell towards his doom.

But and angel appeared and rescued him from a senseless death. Takeru looked up from the savior's arms, a glowing purple helmet covered his face. "Holy Angemon," Takeru said to himself.

Holy Angemon placed Takeru back on the broken ship, which was mostly intact before turning back to the dark Digimon. He pointed at it with his glowing purple sword Excalibur. "You have attempted to destroy that in which I have been destined to protect. You shall be punished in eternal life!" His voice echoed in the air as spectators came updeck to watch the battle. The queen had found Takeru and thrown herself to him hugging him as tightly as possible.

"Gate of Destiny!" Holy Angemon said, spinning his sword in the air to form a golden doorway lined with Digicode that glowed in the air. The doorway opened, and started to pull the giant Digimon forward before it raised both its arms high above its head and swung down at Holy Angemon.

It growled as Holy Angemon flew back upwards, not giving up the fight. While trying to strike the angel again, the dark Digimon struck the side of the airship releasing several of levitation crystals that were all the size of large boulders. The ship began to tip on its left side and people inside swarmed to the right trying to balance the weight.

"Why don't ya try hitting us instead of the ship!" a voice beckoned the enemy from behind. The dark Digimon turned around to see a large red beetle accompanied with two humans riding along it's back.

"Yamato! Koushirou!" Takeru shouted from the tipping vessel. He waved excitedly to them trying to get their attention.

"Is that Takeru?" Koushirou asked Yamato.

"TK!" Yamato shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I guess it is," Koushirou said to himself.

Mega Kabuterimon continued to tease the dark enemy giving Holy Angemon enough time to fly back upwards and strike it with his secondary attack. "Excalibur!"

The cut from his blade went through the skull of the creature halfway down its back, but soon healed itself before it turned and swung at Holy Angemon again. He cut through the air and would have continued to fall had he not struck a levitation stone hard against his back. The force of the impact caused Holy Angemon to revert back to Patamon.

Kabuterimon set Yamato and Koushirou onto the ship after Holy Angemon used his attack while the enemy was not looking, where the three of them greeted and hugged each other. Yamato she tears and she clutched onto his brother so tightly that he couldn't breath, telling him how much he missed him.

Suddenly, Takeru's pocket was whaling with an endless squealing sound. He reached in and took out his D-3 which glowed brightly. He looked down at Patamon who was still resting against the levitation crystal. The dark Digimon came closer and closer to Patamon as the crystal glowed brightly, engulfing him in light.

Takeru shouted from the top of his lungs, "Patamon, get up and Digivolve!"

Patamon looked up with half opened eyes as the light from the crystal grew brighter and brighter, so bright that the enemy had to shield his eyes with his left arm. Patamon blinked his eyes rapidly, "I feel strange. Takeru!"

Patamon flew upwards. He was now the one which was glowing, as the stone fell to the beneath them through the clouds and to the ground. Patamon growled at the dark Mega Digimon and spread its wings out wide.

"Patamon, Warp Digivolve to …" his wings flapped hard as his body exploded in green light as if his body were surrounded by glass. The green shell of his former self shattered in the air and Angemon appeared holding his staff, spinning it around before his shell exploded in a lighter shade of green become Holy Angemon once again. He brougth his arms forward crossing them across his chest as the gauntlets that protected his arms glowed a green so light it looked white. Holy Angemon swiftly spread his arms ide as iff to break from a cell and his body exploded in white light.

"…Seraphimon!" Before the dark beast and the air ship stood an angel of green light and hope. Its body covered with majestic and royal blue armor, sporting ten wings of glimmering gold. A yellow cloth came down from the armor in front of its legs flapping in the wind as the transformation ended the light disappeared. Markings across his armor appeared as if drawn on, and regal angel's wings appeared on the sides of his helmet and the soles of his feet.

Takeru and the others stared out at Seraphimon in awe and amazement. His Digimon had evolved with the power of the levitation stones. Perhaps it was true what the myths had said.

"Testament," Seraphimon said. Though his voice was calm, it echoed loudly as he pointed his arms forward at the dark enemy. A blast of green and yellow light of fire came from his arms and struck the black attacking Digimon, causing considerable damage.

Seraphimon raised his arms upwards and spun them downward so they pointed out once again to the evil Digimon. His palms touched and started to glow brightly. "Seven Heavens." Seven orbs of light appeared around him each with a different symbol across the front. They spun around behind him as the dark Digimon stared, still hurt from the last attack.

One orb came forward with amazing speed and struck the dark Digimon, then another, then another, untill all seven had come forward and exploded against the dark Digimon's body. All the while Seraphimon stood motionless in the air in the same stance. When the smoke cleared, the dark Digimon's body was ravaged with wounds and burns. It looked forward at Seraphimon, before losing its balance in the air and began to fall backwards, disappearing in the clouds.

Seraphimon looked over at Takeru, before he glowed in white and reverted back to Tokomon and jumped forward into Takeru's waiting arms. Takeru hugged him tightly before looked back up to Yamato and Koushirou.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Seraphimon is just about my favorite Digimon in the whole world. In case you're wondering, the 'dark Digimon' was none other than Virus type Cherubimon like in the third movie, and as we all know, the third movie never happened, so that left me the ability to write in a first time appearence of Seraphimon, since this story takes from the anime. The levitation crystals are based on Levistones from Vision of Escaflowne, and I bet you can probably guess what they are in the myths in this story.


	6. Chapter Six

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 6**

"So let me get this straight," Yamato said pacing through Takeru's cabin. He placed his fingers against his forehead and carefully massaged his brain as he walked the same four steps over and over again. "Let me get this straight," he said again. He continued to pace as Takeru sat patiently at a small table and Koushirou leaned against the wall next to the door. "So let me get this straight, you've gone totally insane."

Takeru was annoyed. "I'm not insane. It's my duty."

Yamato quickly sat down in the chair parallel to his little brothers, shaking his palm back and fourth. "But Takeru, you are expected to get married?!"

"It's my duty as the prince," Takeru sighed.

Yamato massaged his temples, trying to see where Takeru was coming from. A flood of emotion consumed his mind with the prospects of his young brother's marriage at such a young age to a girl he had never met for the sole purpose of uniting kingdoms and families. "No, TK. No way."

"Yamato," Takeru sighed. "I have to."

"WHY!?"

"You wouldn't understand. I just have to. The queen, I saved her life and in return she saved mine and Patamon's making us part of her family," Takeru sighed. "I can't betray her."

"Have you asked whether you could leave the kingdom?" Koushirou asked.

Takeru's eyes went wide. "You can't be serious. I couldn't do that to her, not after all she did for me!"

Yamato brought his eyes up to his face and squeezed his eyes tightly and breathed heavily. "Takeru, you can't be a prince and you can't be a king. You have another life! What about mom and dad and Kari and the others!"

"What about them Yamato!" Takeru sneered. "Do you see _any_ of them here? Do you have _any_ idea how to get off this world back to ours!?" Takeru stood up. "Yamato, I don't like it anymore than you, but I have to do this. You'd understand if it happened to you." Takeru sighed deeply and closed his eyes walking towards the door. He leaned his forehead against the back of the door and whispered to Koushirou and Yamato, "I'm too far into this to get out now. I am Prince Takeru, heir to the royal house of Qualaria, holder of the third chalice to the thrown of Qualaria and future king of Qualaria."

Yamato sighed and stood up, walking up behind Takeru, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You do what you have to do."

Takeru turned around and leaned against the door. "Please, tell me you'll stay in the kingdom until after I wed. Then be off on your journey, and write me your progress? Bring me back our loved ones."

Yamato smiled. "They got you talking like them now."

**

"Mega Kabuterimon!" Koushirou shouted over what was left of the deck. "The captain said you can stop now, we're right over Illaria!"

The giant red beetle stopped in the air and turned back around to break the chains that tied him to the damaged airship. He nodded to Koushirou and reverted back to Tentomon.

"It's weird, Takeru is getting married. He's gonna be a king."

Koushirou shrugged. "He's made his choice. We're gonna support him."

They walked out into the main parlor where servants were perfecting Takeru and Yamato's hair and clothes and faces. Three servants were brushing through Patamon's fur and shining his nails. Takeru said, "I don't see why you bother. Patamon will be going as Seraphimon. The queen said it would be more impressive for a first meeting." He saw Koushirou and Tentomon and waved to them, as three of the servants groaned as they were trying to straighten his sleeve.

"Do you want Tentomon to go as Mega Kabuterimon?" Koushirou asked.

Takeru's eyes wandered. "The queen, uh, asked that only Yamato come along to the first meeting. She wanted as few people as possible to go and Yamato is family I guess."

Koushirou smiled amused at how Takeru tried to protect his feelings. "Well," he said looking up the ceiling, "I'm very hurt that I'm not good enough. I suppose I _could_ let this one incident go without holding a grudge."

There was a low rumbling before a loud thump as the airship rested down to the ground. Takeru took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt his brother's hand pat him on the shoulder followed by more groans from the servants asking them to hold still. The queen rushed into the room followed by her advisor Teika (Takeru's etiquette teacher), and several servants. Her face lit up at seeing Takeru and Yamato.

"You boys look lovely," she pinched Takeru's cheeks and shook his face a bit. She looked up at Yamato with a smile. "You both look wonderful."

**

"Greetings my liege," the queen said, bowing her head to the king that kissed her on the hand. It must have been hard for her, the headdress that she wore was quite heavy looking, as it draped down across her body to the back of her legs. "We are honored to take meet of you."

"The honor is ours," he said, "to have our surrogate daughter wed with your surrogate son. We are confident that any boy you chose to take under your wing is more than worthy to carry the bloodline."

Both Takeru and Yamato were hidden behind long robes and heavy headdresses. They couldn't see a thing behind the cloth masks that showed emblems of the royal house of Qualaria in golden silk. Teika stood in between them with similar clothing but less heavy. Takeru could feel his insides tighten at the knowledge that in only moments would he meet the girl that would be his princess. He swallowed tightly. Behind the four of them, Seraphimon stood high above their heads standing completely still.

"We apologize for the condition of our airship," the queen continued. Takeru wanted to scream at how long this was all taking. "We were attacked by a dark Cherubimon for unprovoked reasons."

"No apology is necessary my lady," he assured. "You must tell us what happened."

"In due time, your Highness." She took a deep breath and pulled on Takeru's sleeve. She pulled Yamato forward, careful not to make him trip over his robes. "May I introduce Yamato," he uncovered the robes from his face, "the elder brother to the Prince whom we have only recently met."

Takeru could hear a gasp from somewhere behind the king. Yamato nodded to the king and said not a word, as he was instructed earlier.

"This is Teika, my royal attaché," the queen introduced her advisor. She finally pulled Takeru up and he stepped forward, removing the headdress from his face. He saw the king standing before him, an advisor to his side, and a girl hidden behind robes to the other side. "This is the prince."

Takeru nodded. The king pulled on the princess and she stood forward. He removed the headdress for her, revealing a young girl of Takeru's age. The sunlight glinted off the flower shaped golden clip that kept her short brown hair from her face. Takeru bit his lip as her eyes widened at this site of her future husband.

"Ta- ke- ru…..?" she whispered.

"Hi- Hikari?" his voice was thin and without energy. He had no breath in his lungs and gasped for air.

"Takeru!" she cried. She forgot about protocol, she forgot about rules, and she threw herself to Takeru and hugged her tightly.

The king and the queen both gasped, as he asked, "You two know each other? Prince, how did you know her true name?"

Neither Hikari nor Takeru heard the questions as they hugged each other tightly, spinning around and laughing as tears formed at their eyes. After a moment, Hikari let go of Takeru and looked to Yamato, before jumping to him and hugging him as well.

"These, these are my friends," she finally said, letting go of Yamato. She stepped over to be closer to Takeru. "These are the ones I've been looking for all this time." She rested her hand against the back of Takeru's and looked up the the steel angel that stood high above them all. "Is that Patamon?"

Explanations and further introductions followed far into the night, and given the strange history that the children shared, both the Queen of Qualaria and the King and Queen of Illaria allowed the children great freedom to roam the castle alone and unattended. Hikari soon found out that Tentomon and Koushirou were also with Takeru and Yamato. She had been so lost in happiness, all seemed as if it were a dream.

"Why did you take the name Kieka?" Takeru asked. He and Hikari walked slowly through the royal garden in the late night, the stars now shining brightly in the sky.

"The king asked me to take a royal name when I became princess," she said. Hikari had rescued the king and queen much like Takeru had, with the help of her own miracle angel. "It was the least I could do, I mean, he _did_ make me a princess."

Takeru smiled. "You were always a princess."

"Don't be so corny," she commanded. She shivered a moment, before Takeru put his arm around her as they walked. She looked up to him. "Hey husband."

He blushed in the twilight. Being forced to marry Hikari might have been the best thing that ever happened to him. With this arrangement, Takeru would never have to tell her exactly how he felt. It was one awkward moment they could skip. "This is all like a dream."

She rested her head against his chest as they walked. "I didn't think I would see you or any of the others again."

"That's the way I felt. But I always had hope," he assured. "Yamato said that Daisuke is at a monastery in the forest and he can't walk. We have to go see him."

"Yeah," she agreed. "He told me about it. Poor Daisuke. We have to bring him here and get him rehabilitated."

"He might not be thrilled over this arrangement that you and me have going," he laughed.

She pulled away from Takeru and grabbed him by the hand, urging him to follow her. "Come with me to the fountain. It's really pretty at night."

They sat at the fountain's edge as sprinkles of water carried through the night air onto their backs and faces. The edge was tall enough so that they could both dangle their legs. A few times, Takeru touched his foot to Hikari's.

"What do you think the others are doing?" Hikari thought outloud.

"Yamato and Koushirou are both inside with the royals."

She laughed, pushing him with her shoulder. "Not them silly, I meant like my brother and Sora and the others."

Takeru sighed and shrugged. "They're probably out there, somewhere. The four of us found each other, and Yamato found Daisuke. I bet they're all over this world, just scattered. We just gotta find them."

She rested her head against Takeru's shoulder. "I hope we find them all."

Takeru laughed. "Don't worry about it. We've been split up before in the Digital World."

"I know," she sighed. "But you know this place is different. Me and you can't go with Yamato and Koushirou to find the others."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. He looked down to Hikari and kissed her on the forehead. When he pulled his face back he wondered why it was that he did what he did. She smiled at him.

"You've never done that before," she giggled.

"If we're getting married eventually," he said, "might as well get a head start."

"Lame TK," she laughed. She kissed him lightly against the lips before standing up and pulling him off the fountain. "Back home, I always knew how I felt about you, I just didn't _know_ that I knew."

Takeru blinked a few times.

"Nothing like an arranged marriage to bring out someone's true feelings," she said laughing stupidly. She blushed and looked away. She felt Takeru's hand on her own and she looked back to him.

"Ya, nothing like it," he closed his eyes and tilted his head to the left with a stupid smile on his face.

Off to the side sitting atop a tall vertical bush, Gatomon and Patamon lay watching their human partners. Gatomon giggled under her breath, which was much unlike her to do. "They're cute aren't they?"

Patamon nodded. He looked down and watched them walk away back towards the palace hand in hand. Takeru swung their warms back and forth as he took large steps, pulling Hikari along. Before long, the two of them were out of site in the darkness. Gatomon jumped down and Patamon followed through the air.

"Takeru's teach said that the princess and her guardian fought in many battles," Patamon said. He looked down to Gatomon from his vantage in the air.

She smiled and shrugged. "I fought in a couple battles." Patamon flew down and sat on Gatomon's head.

**

They spent two weeks at the kingdom of Illaria, preparing arrangements for a marriage that would occur in the summer, several months away. Despite the circumstances of Hikari and Takerus' pasts, plans continued to have them marry. Takeru and Hikari would both rise to power of the Qualaria Empire becoming the King and Queen. And although Hikari and Takeru had both had to think about rules and etiquette, the two of them spent every free moment together remembering how they had fallen in love before. Late at night they would sneak out of their rooms to walk out through the garden and past the fountain, carefully monitored by Patamon and Gatomon who secretly followed behind.

Koushirou and Yamato both spent much time with the Queen helping with arrangements for the future marriage. Both of them gave their full support now, not at all questioning Takeru or Hikari. They had become quite useful to the royal families perfecting everything other than the writing of new laws and signing of contracts.

Shortly before they left their first visit, Takeru stole a kiss from Hikari since it was obviously forbidden for them to do so in front of their adopted parents. There was a royal banquet before a short ceremony to commemorate the Queens and Prince's visit. The next time they would see each other would be a month later, when the King and Queen of Illaria would visit Takeru's kingdom.

**

"Takeru!" Teika snapped.

"Eh?" Takeru said, lifting his head from his book.

"Stop daydreaming and answer the question," she ordered.

"The question, um, right," he said.

Teika sighed and grabbed a chair, sitting in front of him. "TK, I know you're excited, but please, you have to study!"

Takeru's face went red, he didn't confirm or deny her accusation. "The answer is, um, five and a half?"

"You don't even know what subject I'm trying to teach!" she snapped.

"Maybe I'm just testing _you_," he said.

She sighed and closed his book for him. "Go ahead and go play or whatever it is you do. Leave this old lady be."

"You aren't _that_ old," Takeru said. He kissed her on the forehead and ran out of the room yelling thank you to her on his way out. He ran passed an open balcony. He ran out to it and saw Yamato and the queen playing light tennis in the courtyard below. Takeru watched them for a moment, both of them were pretty good. The thought that Yamato and the queen had developed a competitive friendship amused Takeru. It kind of reminded him of Yamato and his own mother's relationship. They weren't close, but they had an understanding.

A short while later the queen, Koushirou, Teika, Yamato, and Takeru were all prepped for the arrival of Hikari and her family. The queen was happy to have Koushirou as part of the welcoming since she had learned to respect and appreciate Koushirou as well as Yamato.

The Illarian royal family arrived late into the afternoon on their regal airship that was decorated with massive sails marked with Digicode and the family crest. The greetings were made on the entrance to the side of the palace, and both Takeru and Hikari struggled to not hug each other the moment they saw each other.

The tours through the grounds and the palace seemed to last an eternity to the young prince and princess who longed to run off and be alone together. As the queen walked them all over the property, Hikari and Takeru stayed close to the other's side gazing into each other's eyes.

After the royal banquet to which lasted forever, and for which was attended by virtually everyone in the kingdom, the royal ball commenced. After having a half of a dance, Takeru and Hikari managed to sneak off to the upper levels of the palace and onto a high balcony. The minute they were outside Takeru grabbed Hikari's hands and pulled her to the edge.

"I thought that would _never_ end," he sighed, pulling her closer to him.

She rested her head on his chest and breathed deeply. "I missed you, TK."

His hand found the side of her cheek and brought her face up to his. "It's really cold out here."

She shivered, she hadn't noticed until after he said it. She stepped in closer to his body feeling his own warmth with his. She kissed him softly before looking out at the view of the kingdom; the twilight mixed with the lights of the city. She gazed in awe.

"Your buildings are so different from ours," she said.

"Kari," he whispered. "This will all be ours."

"I wish Tai were here," she sighed as she rested against Takeru. "We have to have the kingdom searched, along with every kingdom on this planet for our friends."

"Hikari, you know the only ones that can find Taichi and the others are you, me, Yamato, and Koushirou. We're the only one with Digivices tuned to the others."

"I want them to be here," she said. "All of them."

**

Three days later, Koushirou and Yamato stood at the outer gates of the kingdom in front of two large Monochromon with large cases strapped to their backs. It was a cold January morning and they were both huddled up in the robes and warm clothes that the queen had ordered made for them. Tentomon sat on top of one of the Monochromon's head watching the others. A royal Panjamon stood behind them with his hands to his side standing straight.

The wind blew through their hair from left to right, as Hikari and Takeru stepped forward through the cold, leaving their parents behind. Patamon and Gatomon stood to their sides. She handed Yamato a box of cookies, telling them she asked cook to make them special.

"Yamato," she said quietly. "In seven months, Takeru and I will be wed." A tear fell down from her right eye down her cheek. "Please Yamato, bring my brother and the others. Please bring them to us."

"I will," Yamato said.

"Promise me you'll bring me back my brother," she pleaded, looking up to him with wide eyes.

Yamato smiled. "I promise. I won't let either of you down."

Hikari hugged Yamato trying not to cry and then she hugged Koushirou wishing them good luck. Takeru shook Koushirou's hand and wished the same. He looked to Yamato and they stared at one another for a moment, giving each other a faint smile that the only the brothers could see. Takeru nodded and took Hikari by the arm.

"Panjamon," Takeru said. "Do your best in guiding my brother and Koushirou on their journey, and send us reports monthly."

The Panjamon nodded as his white mane rustled through the wind, the ultimate form of Leomon. "Yes my prince. I will do my best."

Yamato and Kourshirou sat on one of the Monochromon with Tentomon, as Panjamon guided them out of the palace walls to the first steps of their new journey. Not long after, they were unseen, far from the castle and alone in the wilderness. Takeru held Hikari tightly as he guided her back to the palace.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: I just love Hikari X Takeru. It's just like the best idea ever! Anything that has to do with Takeru and Hikari and their Digimon just drives me nuts I love it all. They're just so meant for each other!


	7. Chapter Seven

-------------------------  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
-------------------------  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 7**

As if it had only been a few moments from the last time they had seen others that were their friends, both Yamato and Koushirou found themselves in spring, where they air grew warmer and flowers began their bloom to life. Leaves burst open across the forests of the land making the world green again, destroying the winter that nearly killed them all.

They easily made friends with the Panjamon. He became a sort of brother figure to them, as he guided them through the dangers of his world answering the questions that they had.

"We knew a Leomon in the Digital World," Kourshirou stated. "He was a very noble Digimon."

"Leomon have been known to be noble and honorable," he said. "That is why they and their respective higher forms are often favored by the royal families of this world."

Koushirou stopped in his tracks, remembering something that he had long forgotten over the happiness of finding both Takeru and Hikari. "Yamato, didn't you say that Hikari was living in West Province a long time ago?"

It seemed so stupid that they would forget something like that, but like Koushirou, Yamato thought that the excitement of finding her must have repressed that little piece of trivia.

"The princess was found in the west province of Katanentalia," Panjamon explained, "when the King and the Queen of Illaria were visiting. Her Angewomon rescued the two of them, and they subsequently adopted her. It was destiny that she and the prince would marry. Their pasts are nearly identical."

Koushirou nodded. He still felt stupid for forgetting that detail of their search. Perhaps all those months of wandering through worlds of mystery and cities of contrast had made both he and Yamato forget what they were really searching for. Even now, it seemed less and less hopeful that they would be able to find all the others in time for the wedding of Takeru and Hikari.

But perhaps it was trivial. They had the rest of their lives to search for the others, Mimi, Sora, Ken, Miyako, Iori, Jou, and Taichi. Seven of their friends were lost in that world just the same as Koushirou and Yamato. And not only were there friends to search for, there were partners. All this time, Yamato's Gabumon must have been wandering the land without a partner, without his friend. And what if the others had also lost their Digimon? The search of course would go on, until all twelve children and all twelve Digimon were found and reunited once again. Kourshirou wondered if it was possible. And then he wondered about the grim possibility that they might never find their friends. Perhaps some had been hurt and died and just disappeared from existence.

Panjamon read the letter to Yamato and Koushirou, addressed from Takeru's hand himself. "Dearest Yamato and Koushirou, times have been kind to I and the princess Hikari, but we fear that our proclamations and searches throughout our kingdoms and neighboring countries have yielded no success in the search for our friends. Furthermore, the messenger that we had sent to the Monastery you described to us has returned with news that our beloved Daisuke is no longer with them. That he and XV-mon have left to search for themselves. Apparently, Daisuke's loss of mobility threw him into depression and it was the choice of XV-mon that he take Daisuke away from the lonely place in the country to save the life of our friend. Be warned that Daisuke is now out there, searching for you as well as the others…"

Yamato stared out across the valley where a huge city was erected. Small but high mountains dotted the landscape and not far were the coast and ocean. The moutnains stuck out of flat land as if placed there by a giant, and the city was built around them just the same. He took a deep breath as he heard Takeru's words through Panjamon.

Koushirou's Digivice was beeping. It was a sound that neither Koushirou nor Yamato had heard in a long time, and upon its arrival they were both startled. Koushirou slowly removed it from his pocket as Tentomon flew up behind him to look over his shoulder.

"Somewhere," he said quietly, "in this city. Somewhere close, someone is here." He jumped up and took Tentomon by his claws and spun him around cheering, the first sign of true emotion shed in a long while. "C'mon! Let's go find whoever it is!"

He ran down the trail with Tentomon leaving behind Yamato and Panjamon and the two Monochromon. Yamato had a faint smile as he looked up to the great lion Digimon. "I haven't seen him like that in a while."

"He is still young," Panjamon said. He walked forward, calling upon the Monochromon to follow. Yamato stood for a moment to reflect. They were so close now, and in but a few hours he might be with an old friend and loved one. He ran up to catch up to Panjamon.

**

There was some sort of festival that day. Most of the inner city streets were packed with people shopping and singing and dancing and eating. It was difficult for the group of travelers to filter themselves through the thin streets which were shoulder to shoulder with humans and Digimon. It was difficult for Koushirou and Yamato to keep site of each other. But it was quite easy for them to see Tentomon sitting atop one of the Monochromon and Panjamon who's head towered over the crowds.

"Panjamon!" Koushirou shouted over the hustle. "Perhaps you and the Monochromon should wait for us in a calmer area!"

"Are you sure that you will be alright young master?" the Panjamon said.

"We'll be fine!" Koushirou said, as Panjamon started to get farther and farther away. "Tentomon, c'mon!" Tentomon took flight and waved to Panjamon. Yamato and Koushirou tried their hardest to stay together short of holding hands. Tentomon had little problem, as he stayed above everyone's heads in the air.

Both had their Digivices in hand, although the search hadn't stopped either of them from stopping and browsing the exotic merchandise for sale throughout the city. For several hours, the three travelers slowly made their way through the narrow streets closer and closer to the target reading. It was a small building, stuck between the crevice of two much larger buildings. Flowers decorated all the windows. Outside the windows were small boxes filled with outdoor plants carefully arranged to compliment the tiny house.

Yamato touched the sharp brick wall.

"Go ahead a knock," Koushirou said.

Yamato glared at him. "You should knock."

"Why me?" Koushirou exclaimed.

"I don't want to knock."

"Well I don't either."

"Well then we'll just sit here."

"Well fine."

"Fine."

Koushirou folded his arms and stared at Yamato who did the same. Tentomon covered his face with his claws and sighed. Spreading his wings he flew up to the window and he tapped at the door. Yamato and Koushirou both held their breath's tightly as the sound of Tentomon's exoskeleton hit the wood.

They waited for what seemed like a hundred years, but which was probably more like two or three minutes. Tentomon knocked again, and there was nothing. Yamato and Koushirou both sighed and leaned against the building. Koushirou peered into the window and saw a tiny home filled with flower arrangements. A small table and stove atop a primitive fireplace sat in the corner, and a few chairs dotted the room. Another room lay beyond, but Koushirou couldn't see past.

He took out his Digivice again. The reading was inside the house, but something was different. He stared into his Digivice, there were now two readings. Two separate Digivice readings. He told Yamato about the second reading, and predictably he took his out as well.

"Well," Yamato said, "if there's no one home then they must have left their Digivices."

"We could break in and find out?" Tentomon suggested.

"Tentomon," Koushirou said. He didn't bother to finish his sentence. "I guess we could wait here."

Yamato stared into the window and leaned against it and breathed out hard. The window steamed in front of him as he closed his eyes and sighed. He thought about how close they were to finding another one or perhaps two of his old friends. But he was anxious, and couldn't even think about sitting around and waiting.

They left the house behind promising to return later that night. Koushirou and Yamato and Tentomon went back deep into the city to find Panjamon to tell them their progress. He was glad that they somewhat found what that they were looking for. Leaving him behind again, Koushirou and his partners went back to the core of the city where the crowds still reined.

There was a park in the center of the city, a quite large one where many people relaxed and played games. Many Woodmon and Cherrymon made their homes at the park, and more were friendly. There was a very old Cherrymon telling stories to a group of children. Yamato and Koushirou stopped to listen for a moment.

"…And then the great beast was slain by the off world hero's that came from a far away land. A far away land where metal birds and metal horses filled both the skies and the roads. These people were ignorant to most things, but there was a group that was different. They came to us and destroyed the evil dark spider Digimon, bringing peace to our land. But one girl made the ultimate sacrifice for our land, and we still sing songs about her fight today…"

There were screams. But luckily they were only from a group of kids playing a game that kids liked to play. One where they would run around pretending to be evil Digimon, chasing each other. Not the most thought out game, but what can you really expect from children under seven?

Yamato leaned against a tree as Koushirou purchased some…thing…on a stick. He and Tentomon returned both with wooden sticks in their mouths. Yamato asked what it was they had bought, and Tentomon said, "We don't know, but it tastes good."

Yamato sighed and looked out across the park. In the distance he saw a small flower shop. Many of the arrangements were the same as the ones that he saw at the house before. He pointed them out to Koushirou. They made their way across the park to the shop, where Koushirou tentatively entered followed by Tentomon and Yamato. The chime rung as they entered and Koushirou took not of the clearly Chinese characters written on the cloth below it.

"Be with you in a minute!" a voice shouted from the back room. The heads of Koushirou, Tentomon, and Yamato all jerked towards the voice, which seemed frighteningly familiar. A girl walked out from the back carrying a potted plant in her hands, and the flowers above just barely covered her face as she walked. When she saw the two boys and the Digimon standing in the middle of the shop to which she tended, the plant fell from her hands, crashing to the ground.

She hugged Yamato tightly crying into his shoulder and soaking his shirt. "I can't believe you guys are here." She managed to tear herself from Yamato before running to Koushirou and hugging him as well. She stepped back for a moment, wiping away her short brown hair from her face.

"Sora," Koushirou whispered.

"We," she stuttered, "we wanted to look for everyone, but, but we didn't have enough money to travel." She sounded as if apologetic and pleading for her life.

Yamato's hand found its way to Sora's shoulder. "We were starting to give up hope of finding you or the others."

She turned her face and looked up at Yamato. He had aged and matured quite a bit since the last time she laid her eyes upon him. His face was rugged and sharp now, the hints of facial hair beginning to grow. His once blonde hair was now darker and longer, almost reaching his shoulders. He was in need of a haircut, that was for sure.

And Koushirou, he had grown as well. Now taller than herself, his hair was long once again as it was when they first met at camp so many years ago. She smiled at him and winked. "Wait until Mimi hears about this."

**

Yamato stared at the image of himself that rested atop the reflective surface of his tea, the first hot thing he had in a long time. The steam came up to his face where he blew it softly into the air where it disappeared. Nursing the cup of tea for a long time to warm his hads, he brought it up to his mouth where he took a sip, then looked up to Sora eyeing him from across the small table.

"More tea Matt?" Biyomon asked him, holding the kettle up to him from the ground.

He smiled and shook his head, "No thanks."

"I managed to get a job at the flower shop," Sora said, "when me and Biymon appeared here. I found Mimi in the park crying a few weeks later. She was yelling that she was tired and hungry and Palmon was trying to keep her quiet."

Yamato laughed under his breath at the thought. "I worked at a bakery before some guy in a robe brought me back my Digivce, before I came to look for everyone," he trailed off and stared into his tea. "Daisuke was paralyzed and we had to leave him at a monastery in the forest, he's not there anymore. We don't know where he went. TK's a prince now, and he's been arranged to marry to Hikari, a princess. Then there's Koushirou and me. It's pretty crazy."

Sora was running her finger across the edge of her teacup listening to Yamato. When he stopped, she said, "Me and Mimi planned to go search for you and the others, but the two of us barely make enough to keep this house and survive."

**

Mimi and Koushirou were walking through the now empty streets of the city. Every now and then they would pass by a few pedestrians that would stop and stare at the two of them who were accompanied by a Palmon and Tentomon, a large Panjamon and two very large Monochromon.

"I knew a Leomon that looked just like you," she said to Panjamon. "Except, not as white as you. He died protecting me and my friend Jou."

"Rest assure my lady," the Panjamon said, "I would make the same sacrifice to protect you or either of the young masters."

She smiled and looked at Koushirou, who seemed to be thinking. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing much," he said.

"No really."

He blushed and closed his eyes. "It's just, I'm happy to see you again."

She giggled. "That's sweet." She brushed her brown hair behind her neck and sighed. "I can't wait to get out of here and find the others. I'm sick of this place."

Palmon jumped up onto Koushirou's back and hung onto him around his neck. "She's happy to see you too. We really missed you."

Koushirou laughed. "Why's that?"

"You usually know what's going on," Mimi joked.

Koushirou sighed. "This place is as much a mystery to myself as it s to you and Sora."

She sighed. "At least it's peaceful. No crazy evil Digimon here have tried to kill us like in the Digital World."

"You're lucky then," Koushirou said. "Yamato and I have been attacked plenty of times."

She gasped and looked to Koushirou.

"A few times. Daisuke can't walk because of one attack. It, it was pretty bad."

Mimi stared at the ground as they walked. "I didn't realize. This city has been quiet since we came here. But we've heard stories about warring countries." She had sadness in her eyes as she spoke. "There is so much war on this world, so much hate and fighting."

Koushirou took her hand and told her to relax. He realized that he was now taller than Mimi, when a few years ago she stood at least a head higher above him. "This place is still in a period of time of unrest and conflict. Soon enough the people here will realize they're better off being more like you."

She smiled. "Thanks Koushirou." She kissed him on the cheek. "We'll all be back together soon, won't we?"

"Daisuke, Jou, Taichi, Ken, Miyako, and Iori are out there right now," Koushirou said. It was dark now, as blue and black and white from the stars above consumed the skies. "Perhaps when we are united the truth of this world will be revealed and we can return home."

"I can't wait to see Hikari and Takeru get married," Mimi daydreamed, flying way off the subject. "I can see Hikari in her white dress. Just like a shining ray of light marrying her shred of hope."

**

The night had passed and the morning was upon the group that had in one day grown from three to seven. It was already late morning, and all of them had overslept since the night before was spent talking and remembering. Mimi was fixing something for breakfast and heating tea over the stove. Koushirou stood by her side ready to help should she need it, but it was apparent that he wasn't really needed other then to keep her company.

Sora and Yamato were lying on the floor next to each other staring at the map that Takeru had given him before they left. They discussed which way would be best to go from that city to the next, charting a route on for several cities and kingdoms. They joked about something that Koushirou didn't hear, but could see them laughing. He leaned against the wall and watched Mimi.

"Could you take this out to Panjamon?" Mimi asked, handing Palmon a plate. "I'm sure he's hungry."

"Sure," she said cheerfully. The little plant Digimon took the food out the door to the front of the house to Panjamon where he had spent the night. They didn't really have to worry about him getting cold, since he was an ice Digimon, after all.

"They're having fun," Koushirou said to Mimi quietly, talking about Yamato and Sora.

In a few more hours, the four of them along with their Digimon stood before Panjamon and the two Monochromon. It was time to leave. All loose ends had been tied up. Sora paid the last of the rent to her landlord and quit her job at the flower shop. Mimi quit her job as a servant girl in a nearby restaurant before coming back to Koushirou and Yamato.

"My flowers," Sora said to herself. She felt Yamato patting her shoulder. He had this smile on his face that had always been classic with Yamato. His eyes had always had that sharp and straight shape that, at first, had made him look hard and emotionless and selfless. She later found that he was kind and gentle and loving. "Do we have to leave them all?"

Yamato picked a flower off the flower box in the window. He handed it to Sora. "There ya go."

"Well I could have done that," she joked.

"Goodbye house," Mimi said.

"C'mon, we've got a long ways to go," Koushirou announced. Mimi rode the Monochromon on the right with Palmon. Sora rode the Monochromon on the left with Biyomon. Koushirou sat on Panjamon's shoulder; Tentomon was on the other side. Yamato preferred to walk.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Okay, so not much happened in this chapter. I was planning to have something tragic or exciting happen, but it seemed like the chapter was long enought as it is so I stopped it at that they found each other. A sort of transitional chapter. Something big is coming soon. I can feel it!


	8. Chapter Eight

-------------------------  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
-------------------------  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 8**

A dark and menacing figure stood against the moonlight. He stared out across the land, glaring with his deep and mechanical red eyes, contemplating what actions to take next. The night was cold and motionless. Twisting his metal tentacles around and bringing them to his face, he thought of where and when would be the best place to strike. He turned, and entered his domain.

"What news do you have for me," he asked. He was massive compared to others of his kind. He stared down at the tiny speck of a human that called him master.

"We have not yet been able to bring them all together. Our earlier attacks only split them up more," his minion said. She adjusted her spectacles and looked back up to her master. "Our attacks were premature, as I had warned you."

He scowled at her, and pointed his massive and powerful weapon of an arm at her. She braced for his strike, but he did not hit her. Turning back to stare down the hall of his domain, the dark figure said, "You will kill our strategist and enslave new ones. I want them brought together so I can destroy them at once."

"Yes my lord," she said. She turned and started to walk out of the room, before the voice bellowed her once more.

"You will send your Digimon," he said.

"My lord?"

"Dispatch your guardian, and have him and his armies get the two of them on their way."

"Which two?"

"You know which."

She thought for a moment. "Yes my lord. They will be on their journeys within the next week."

"You have until tomorrow."

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: dun dun DUN!


	9. Chapter Nine

-------------------------  
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
-------------------------  
  


**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 9**

"Koushirou, what are you doing?" Mimi asked.

It was early in the morning, just before daybreak, when Koushirou was leaning against a very large tree holding his Digivice in one hand and a thin and sharp piece of metal. The back of his Digivice was open, as Koushirou poked at the insides seemingly oblivious to what he was doing.

"I was thinking," he said, "that maybe I could find a way to expand my Digivice's tracking range."

Mimi walked over and sat down next to him, looking over his arm at the exposed insides of the device. She pretended to know what he was doing and nodded along with each of his hand movements as if to support what he was doing. "How are you going to do that?"

"Well," he said, "all of our Digivices are linked together. That's why when we are close enough to each other, they can scan the other person's device. But, I was thinking that maybe we could expand the range of our Digivices so they could find the others that might be hundreds or thousands of miles away."

Mimi nodded. "You'd need an extra power supply," she added.

"Probably," he sighed. "It was a lot easier trying to find each other in the old Digital World. We weren't as spread out as we are now."

"Plus, there's more of us now."

"Yeah. Why are you up so early?"

"Sometimes I like to get up early to watch the sunrise. I didn't think about all the trees around us. Stupid trees."

Koushirou chuckled, then asked, "Are Yamato or Sora or the Digimon awake?"

"Nope," she said moving her legs around with her hands. "It's just us."

Koushirou nodded, then closed the back of his Digivice. "There's no way I can figure out how to max the output of these things. I wish I had my computer with me, to play games with at least."

"Did you have Donkey Madness on it? I love that game," she giggled. Koushirou was refreshed by her young and positive attitude. The months of forest and nomad life had left both Koushirou and Yamato a bit dry in the personality department.

"What's the range of our Digivices?" Mimi asked.

"About a mile or two, as far as I know."

"Then it was pretty lucky that you and Matt have found _any_ of us," she realized.

"I suppose. I wish we had D-Terminals. We might have been able to expand the range or at least email the others. I'm surprised any of us have survived without technology."

"I would really like to take a shower," she joked.

"There's technology for you."

She sighed and looked up at the sky which now turned from black to a dark shade of blue, as light in the distance brought life to the dark forest. "What will we do once we find the others?"

"Find a way to get home," he said.

"But how?"

He thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. But we are strongest as a group."

"Maybe we aren't meant to find the others. Maybe we were brought to this world to help it, like the Digital World."

"There hasn't been much evidence of that."

"What about the dark Digimon you told me about."

Koushirou paused in thought for a moment, before saying, "Well, as far as I can see, this world isn't in too much danger, other than the basic warlike nature of primitive man."

"That might be it then," she said.

"What?"

"Humanity is widespread. We might have been scattered all around this planet since the problems of this world are so widespread. Humans live all over this world. Evil Digimon didn't live all over the Digital World."

"I suppose its possible," Koushirou said. "We might actually be tampering with our own destinies."

"Don't get me wrong, I want to see the others just the same. Maybe I'm just crazy."

"We can't predict our destinies. Even if we were meant to stay scattered across the land, we still would have driven ourselves to find each other. We might save this world yet."

"Koushirou?" Mimi spoke.

"What is it?"

"How will we find Gabumon?" she said softly.

"I don't know."

She rested her head against Koushirou's shoulder, closing her eyes lazily as she breathed softly. "He'll find us." She fell asleep a few moments later, just as the sky became a bright light blue. Morning had arrived.

"Maybe he will…."

**

Some say that it is dangerous to mix love with friendship. Others may tell you that friends make the best lovers, in that they know the other in every possible way. They see each other as not only their counterparts, but as best friends. This could have been easily said about Takeru and Hikari. They met one another in their youth, and as the years progressed their friendship grew and matured into an unsurpassable love both knew existed, but never acted upon.

They had been through more than just two friends had. They faced life and death together, more than those of their brothers and friends. They were both the youngest of their group of Chosen Children, which made it easy for them to become close. Takeru had saved Hikari and Hikari and saved Takeru. They both made promises to each other, promises to protect one another, because they were linked together by destiny.

They became Chosen Children again, the experienced of the new group. They led their new friends along the way, giving them advice, and helping them to cope with their destinies. It brought them closer together. They were the holders of Hope and Light. They're hearts beat as one and they had the angels to protect them and each other.

Takeru sat quietly leaning against the table while Hikari nursed a cup of tea, moving her finger across the brim. "That's terrible posture, TK."

He rested his head on the table and smiled, watching her movements. "Does it matter?"

"You have to be a good example," she said. She took a sip of tea.

"To who?"

"Me?"

"But you are the one that's telling me to set an example."

"What does that matter?"

"Well," he said matter-of-factly, "if you needed me to set an example, then you wouldn't be the one to tell me to set one. You would already have the knowledge that you need to be good and not need the example of someone else. 'Please, Takeru, be good so that I will know how to be good even though I already know how to be good.'"

She blinked a few times, then smiled. "You're weird."

He laughed childishly. The messy blonde hair that covered his face made him seem like a boy, a young one that didn't know what the world was. Nothing was beyond the jar of cookies in the kitchen, just high enough to not be able to reach.

Hikari looked at herself in the reflection of the metal saucer to her tea. Her hair was longer then she remembered and she seemed older. What had happened to them? Takeru had grown young and innocent and cute. Hikari had become a woman. She moved a strand from her face to behind her ear, then looked back to Takeru.

He was now practically lying on the table looking up at her with the most childish eyes she had ever seen. "Why do you stare at me like that?" Hikari asked.

"Why shouldn't I? You'll be gone soon, I'll miss you."

"I've already been here for almost a month."

"I'll still miss you."

"Stop being so sappy."

He laughed that almost sounded like a giggle. "Maybe we could ask the king to extend your stay?"

"We've already extended it two weeks," she laughed. "It'd be nice though." Hikari looked out the window. The kingdom was calm and quiet that day. The arrival of spring brought clear skies and spirited people. "Maybe you could come back with me for a while."

"I don't think the queen will let me," he sulked. They hated to be away from each other, even for short periods of time. Each night when they would retire to their chambers, Takeru would have Angemon silently fly him out his window to Hikari's, where they would spend the night together talking or cuddling.

"Kari!" a voice yelled.

She stood up from the table immediately to turn around to the voice. Gatomon stood at the doorway of their chambers out of breath and panting. She leaned against the frame of the door with a look of anguish and fear in her eyes. "Illaria is under attack."

"By whom?!" she gasped.

"Invaders from the north," she said, regaining her composure. "One of our soldiers made it back here to tell us. A Metal Tyrannomon and an army of dark Knightmon are terrorizing the city." She stopped and looked as if she was trying to word even more bad news.

"What is it?"

"They, they say they are looking for the Digidestined."

**

"Testament!" Seraphimon yelled. The city lay in flames, the castle had been destroyed, and innocent people ran through the streets screaming for mercy being slain by knights with swords the size of humans. Each night wore the darkest black armor, and their faces were hidden behind their huge metal helmets. Seraphimon spread his wings wide and pointed his arms outward, creating energy from his spirit and blasted holy flames through the air. His body was a canon and he fired his soul at those who would hurt the innocent. He spun around the City Square, hitting dozens of Knightmon. They would never hurt the innocent again.

He stood in the middle of the chaos. Buildings around him came crashing down as fires consumed the whole city, towering over the innocent. He heard the screaming of children, of parents, and the elderly. A sword passed down coming towards his head, and before it could strike, Seraphimon bent down and struck the legs of the opposing force. The Knightmon fell on its back. Seraphimon picked up its sword of darkness and struck in down the center.

It was as if they were a virus, as more and more appeared, holding the heads of the people with blood staining their armor. Seraphimon spread its legs out gaining balance on the soil. His wings straightened to rigid steel.

"Seven Heavens!" The seven orbs of a higher plane ripped through the air with not a sound. Each striking a random Knightmon as they super heated the air around them. Seven dark Digimon fell to the ground. Then, another seven, followed by another seven.

"Takeru," Seraphimon's voice echoed through the air, "quickly, you must find the King and Queen."

The blonde boy nodded, jumping into one of the open arms of Angewomon. He looked desperately at Hikari who was holding tightly to her angel's other arm. Takeru admired the strength that she had, and although tears formed at her eyes, she continued to stay strong as her kingdom burned around her.

Illaria was deserted now. Those who survived the attack were hopefully far in the mountains now. And hopefully, they would not be followed by the dark and ruthless Knightmon. The ruins of the castle lay ahead at the foot of a large hill that was once decorated with evergreen trees and towering golden towers of white and yellow. The towers now fell and the trees were ablaze. At the middle of the skeleton of a palace, a black object shined. It could be seen from the far distance of where Seraphimon and Angewomon were.

They set down outside the palace. It was a horror of a beast, standing at least three stories tall made of black metal. They stood there staring at each other for several moments in silence. Like stone, the creature made no movement and looked like a giant metal sculpture. Only the sounds of roaring fires filled the ears of those who were there. The cyborg looked at them with dead eyes and long, sharp claws. He held in his metal hand, the unconscious body of the King.

"You are the ones in which I have sent to destroy," he said. His voice thundered over the crashes of the fires. Had he not been so horrible looking and terrifyingly black, the voice might have sounded heroic. It almost sounded familiar to Takeru and Hikari, but neither thought about it as they looked up helplessly to the king. "I have no use for him," he squeezed his claws together which tore through the king's body. Blood trickled down the black metal and stained the earth below. The king's shell fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"No!" Hikari screamed, as she tried to run to her surrogate father. Tears ran freely down her face and insanity took over her and her words were slurred and masked by screams. Takeru grabbed her arm and kept her from making a mistake that might kill her, and dragged her far away from what she had seen.

A rage consumed Angewomon who now glowed with white light. "How dare you come to this kingdom and end the lives of innocent people!" The light consumed her as she screamed in anger, powering up for an attack. The debris around her lifted off the ground as the air around her heated. The ground shook below her. "Heaven's Charm!" She created a purple beam of energy that blasted from her arms to the Metal Tyrannomon.

With a swipe of his right claw, the attack was diverted and hit one of the towers that had not fallen. He charged at them a swiped at Seraphimon who dodged the attack turning and using Testament. The attack was dodged again by the metal beast that was quite fast. His right arm glowed as he pointed it in the direction of Angewomon, yelling, "Nuclear Laser!"

She was hit hard and her body burned as she fell from the air hitting the ground hard. Her body was scraped and cut in several places as blood flowed from her wounds. Seraphimon used his orbs of the heaven's against Metal Tyrannomon, but no attack that the mega Digimon would even phaze the seemingly indestructible ultimate Digimon.

"He ispowered by darkness," Seraphim said, "his power is too great for either me nor Angewomon."

As Seraphimon fought Metal Tyrannomon fist to claw, Hikari ran out to Angewomon who was still laying across the ground. She shook Angewomon on the shoulders, begging for her to awake.

"Hi-Hikari," she said, coughing hard as her chest heaved from the pressure of her pains. "I'm sorry, Kari."

Hikari was still crying and unable to maintain herself or her emotions. Takeru sat by the two of them, holding both Hikari and Angewomon's hands. He looked across what was the courtyard, and in the distance, the body of the King. The sharp features of his face tightened, and he stood up with anger.

"Seraphimon!" he yelled. His Digimon pushed the killing machine far enough away to be able to look down at Takeru. The stared at one another for a fraction of a second, but in that short time Seraphimon was able to understand the request by Takeru. He spread his golden wings out as the wind and rising air of fire blew the yellow cloth that sat before his legs waved. In a moment he flew upwards, straight upwards. He never looked down, rising up higher and higher, and within seconds, Seraphimon was out of sight.

"So," the Metal Tyrannomon said. "It seems as if your knight is no match for me." He looked down viciously at Takeru and Hikari who still sat by Angewomon's tortured body. Takeru grabbed onto Hikari who sobbed uncontrollably, forcing to stand up being less than gentle. He grabbed the D-3 from her pocket and moved her arm to the air where she pointed her Digivice. She had no idea what was happening before her, as she was still too heartbroken and without awareness to understand.

A crystal from above fell towards the ground like a bolt of lighting. As it came closer, it glowed brightly as Hikari's D-3 did the same. The crystal turned to light like lightning and struck Angewomon on the chest causing her body to spasm in reflex. Not long after, Seraphimon returned, striking the Metal Tyrannomon in the back while he was not looking.

The cuts were gone from her body, and the blood returned within her. Angewomon jumped up with her wings spread as far as they would stretch as she bent her body downward. Her body shook with white light as she threw her wings down and she took to the air, her body no longer discernable from the light.

"Angewomon Digivolve to…Holy Dramon!"

As she flew through the air her body grew ten times larger and took the shape of a dragon as more wings sprouted. The holy beast posed motionless in the air still radiant from her transformation curled in an S. Her face of a dog and the fur of white and pink made her gentle looking.

"You have hurt the loved ones of who I as a guardian Digimon have sought to protect," she said. "You will not go unpunished."

The Metal Tyrannomon didn't miss a beat. The words of the big cuddly puppy of an angel did not strike fear in the gears and circuits of his body. But he underestimated his opponent, because he didn't see the fireball that came from her mouth that struck him, after she said, "Holy Flame," with a calm and gentle composure.

From behind he could feel seven blasts of energy strike his back, each hurting more than the last until his body burned. A foot kicked him in the stomach that threw him in the air, before another blast from Seraphimon's arms threw him back to the ground.

Weakly, Metal Tyrannomon stood up balancing himself on his claw. He stood up to face his enemy. Holy Dramon still floated motionlessly in the air, as the sun behind her blinded Metal Tyrannomon's eyes. The brilliance of the light blurred all of her features, and she became a silhouette in the daylight.

His ears were ringing, but he could barely hear her say, "Apocalypse," before a burning fire of heat tore through his body. There was darkness after that.

**

Holy Dramon reverted to Salamon, and Seraphimon became a small and chubby Tokomon. Hikari and Takeru held their battered partners as they stood in terror of what they saw. As the smoke and dust and fire of Holy Dramon's attack cleared, the shell of Metal Tyrannomon remained. Perhaps it was a coincidence, a very sick coincidence, and perhaps it was not what they both feared at that moment. Niether spoke a word of what they saw.

A rookie Digimon was left of Metal Tyrannomon. He was a bird, black from a virus that turned those Digimon with pure vaccine hearts to evil and tyrannical Digimon one would not only fear, but also hate. It may have looked like an eagle if its colors were not so dark. Its body was ravaged with cuts and woulds. A black feather was attached to the back of its head with a black headband. The feather was burnt on once side.

It didn't move, and neither did Takeru or Hikari. A chilling wind picked up and dust ran across the courtyard, and ina blink of an eye, a cloaked human stood before the black Hakwmon. She looked up at the four followers of good. Her body was covered head to toe with a black robe, except for a golden ribbon that circled her left arm and ran around her body. Her face could not be seen, as they were hidden behind two large spectacles that glared in the sunlight. She picked up the dark Digimon and spoke.

"You are the hunted." She had a girl's voice, no more than 14 or 15. A voice that seemed dark and deep, but underneath screamed with a high pitched wail. "From every corner of this planet, you will be hunted. The powers of darkness on this world are great, and you will not be spared. Do not get too close to those you know, for they will fall like the King and Queen and the peasants of this kingdom."

Another gust of wind, and the figure was gone.

**

Takeru hugged his queen very tightly, then stood back to take Hikari's hand that still trembled. Three days had passed, and Takeru and Hikari returned to the palace with the grim news. Those who survived the Illarian massacre were brought the Takeru's kingdom.

"Please tell us you will reconsider," the Queen begged.

Takeru shook his head. "Hikari and I are targets of enemies that were once friends. They will destroy what we love, which is why Illaria was attacked. I would not want you or any other of this kingdom to face the same fate. Each second I or my princess here puts the kingdom and its people in danger."

She tried once more, "Please, Takeru. At least take with you guardians."

He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please, my Queen. This has been a very difficult few days. No one from this kingdom will be harmed because they sought to protect the Princess and I."

She took Takeru's hands into her own and smiled. "You have a pure heart, my son. Return to me, someday."

"Tell my brother what happened here this day, and that we will soon be united to fight our equal enemies."

She managed a nod and held his hand tightly.

Takeru nodded, then shook the hands with the advisor to the queen who could barely keep from crying, then kissed her across the cheek. Two angels of hope and light flew away into the horizon over the forests. Each held the once prince and once princess of two predominant kingdoms in a land that was day by day torn by unrest.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
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Authors Notes: =( kinda violent, I know. Anyways people may start to notice that I'm using both English AND Japanese names. It's not a mistake, I just like to mix. With the old Digidestined, names like Kariand TK and Matt are sorta being used as nicknames to show closeness or affection. With the Digimon, I use American names or Attacks when they sound better than the Japanese versions. Also, someone noticed the way I like to spell some of the names of the Digidestined, saying that Jyou is more accurate romanji instead of Jou. But I like the way Jou looks, haha. If you wanna get really tenchinal, Joe in Japanese would be Ji, a little Yo and maybe an added U, so basically it would be Jiyou, and that's just silly. So its all preference, as long as you can tell its Joe that's all that really matters I think. If I mean Joe and end up saying Banana, then I will be in error. That wasn't a personal attack I'm not angry at anyone.


	10. Chapter Ten

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 10**

The haze before his eyes stayed with him for several minutes as he regained his consciousness. His head was pounding and he was still disoriented as he shook his head around, trying to get the hair out of his face as the strands irritated his eyes and made his nose itch. The white blur cleared from his eyes, and he looked upwards to a thick plank of wood that supported the ceiling. He hadn't been inside a building in a long time.

His head was still pounding and Daisuke had no thoughts in his mind other than the pain of his forehead. Nothing mattered other than that pain that beat against his head like his heart. He could hear each beat loudly in his temples and each beat felt like a brand of hot iron.

As his mind began to clear. He was inside a room lying on a soft and comfortable bed. It was also a long time since Daisuke had been in a bed, let alone a comfortable and warm one. His body was covered with bandages, and the pain of his head soon dulled until he could feel the pain in the rest of his body.

_I must be in a hospital room_, he thought. _Why am I always the one that gets hurt?_

He tried to lift up his head up from the soft, downy pillow, but the pain in his neck stopped him. Instead, he turned his head a little to the left, then to the right. The room was empty and there was a large window in it. He was on a two-story building, and the day was clear. It was most likely the sunlight that awoke him from his sleep.

He tried to speak but no words came out, so he lay there in thought. _I'm always getting hurt._

He wondered what he was doing there, and why he was hurt. What had happened that injured him so badly? As he was lying there alone with his thoughts, flashes of the night or perhaps nights before went through his mind. It was starting to come back to him.

**

"Why won't this stupid thing work!!??" Daisuke yekked at the top of his lungs. He wasn't yelling at anyone in particular, since he was facing an empty field of corn in the middle of nowhere.

XV-mon sighed behind him.

"Stupid D-3 you don't do anything for me!" In a moment of ignorant rage, Daisuke threw his blue D-3 out as far as he could, which was only about ten feet since Daisuke was throwing from the floor over the high corn stalks. "I hate this place," he grumbled.

XV-mon picked Daisuke up without asking then held him tightly to his body. "We will go to town tomorrow, get it fixed. Won't that be nice?"

"Don't patronize me," Daisuke sulked.

XV-mon sighed. Daisuke was alive again, that was all that mattered. It was a long time since Daisuke was so sad and suicidal. Now were the days that Daisuke was happy and cheerful, much like the old days but somewhat different. He was most noticeably maturer now and he made fewer lame jokes and thought before speaking. Granted, he didn't _always_ think before speaking, but there was a definite improvement. Perhaps it was because the others weren't around and this was the true Daisuke, or perhaps it was because of the accident. Whatever the reason, he was a new person.

XV-mon grudgingly retrieved Daisuke's D-3 before coming back to his friend who sat by the fire, staring into it with wide eyes. "That's not good for you."

"Eh," Daisuke said. "XV-mon."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For taking me away from that place."

"That was a long time ago. You don't have to thank me."

"I'm glad that you are my Digimon. You're my best friend. It all works out."

XV-mon patted him on the head. "Go to sleep and we'll go to a new city tomorrow; get that D-3 fixed."

Around midnight Daisuke was awakened by the crashing of XV-mon's X-Laser. While he slept, a Okuwamon tried to destroy the two of them. The huge silver beetle glowed in the moonlight as it fought with XV-mon hand in hand. It held him in his claws, bringing XV-mon closer to his mouth and grinding fangs. XV-mon managed to free his arms and he threw his fists down to the monster's head.

"XV-mon Digivolve to-" his transformation was cut short as Okuwamon struck him with his right claw, sending him crashing to the ground. Dirt and rocks flew in the air as XV-mon's body ripped a line through the planet.

"XV-mon look out!" Daisuke yelled, as he managed to sit himself up. Okuwamon heard Daisuke on the ground, and scanned through the tall stalks of corn until he saw his target. Moving closer to Daisuke, Okuwamon extended his arm towards him. Raising his arm to strike, Okuwamon growled downward sizing up his tiny opponent. As he swung, Daisuke covered his face in his arms so that he would not see his doom. He expected to be hit by a hard cold shell of the insect creature, but instead, the soft warmth of XV-mon's body hit him with less force. XV-mon had thrown himself in front of Daisuke once again.

_He fell on me again._

Daisuke was badly hurt, but managed to open his eyes wide enough to see Okuwamon get hit by a beam that came from out of sight. It was shaped like an arrow. The Okuwamon disintegrated and Daisuke lost consciousness.

**

Daisuke managed to yawn despite the pain in his jaw. XV-mon had managed to make Daisuke's whole body sore this time, but luckily everything that use to move still moved. The pain in his body was numbing, and was starting to even out between his appendages. As he lay on the bed, he realized that he could feel the pain in his legs. He could feel the sheets against his skin. He could also feel something warm and slick like metal on each of his ankles.

Summing up all of his strengths, Daisuke tried to lift his body up from the bed, not to get up, but to shift the sheets below him as the folds were starting to get uncomfortable. His attempts were futile, and he lay there thinking for some time. He must have dozed off, because when he awoke it seemed to be afternoon outside. His sores were less sore now, but they still hurt.

That room reminded him of the room he had at the monastery. This disturbed Daisuke and he again tried so sit himself up. This time he managed to do so, but only barely. He was more or less leaning against his right arm. There was a creak at the door and it slowly opened. Daisuke didn't move.

"You're awake!" V-mon exclaimed. He ran over to Daisuke's bedside. "How do you feel?"

"Like a big stupid lizard fell on me," Daisuke joked. "What happened?"

"Okuwamon hit me, and I fell on you," V-mon explained. "But then I got help."

"From who?"

"A friend," V-mon snickered. He was obviously keeping something from Daisuke. He demanded to know what. "I'll go get them."

A few minutes later (which felt like a few years), V-mon returned to the room and a figure stood behind him in the doorway where it was dark enough for Daisuke not to see. The figure stepped forward. He was holding a Digimon in his arms, about the size of a dog. It was a white seal….thing, that smiled at Daisuke. The man holding the Digimon stood with a smile as well, and behind his glasses were the eyes of an old friend.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling well, Daisuke," he said.

"Jou…" Daisuke was speechless.

Gomamon hopped out of Jou's arms and onto Daisuke's bed where he gently patted him on the legs. "How ya feel buddy?"

"Gomamon…"

Jou came to Daisuke's side. "We were afraid that you were going to sleep all night. I was anxious to hear you're voice again. It's good to see you."

"Jou," Daisuke blinked stupidly a few times. "How did you know?"

"I got a reading from your D-3 last night, but then it went out like you just disappeared. By the time me and Gomamon here tracked you down, you were already under attack."

"I had to Digivolve to Zudomon," Gomamon said triumphantly. "It's been a while."

"You're in a hospital now," Jou explained. "I'm a doctor here."

Daisuke looked at him silently waiting for him to continue.

"This is a primitive world, Daisuke. I might be young, but my medical knowledge is probably much greater than most doctors around here. They welcomed my services."

"The others, have you seen any of the others?" Daisuke asked.

Jou shook his head. His long blue hair was now tied back behind his head revealing hi face and his glasses. He paused for a moment, and said, "I never had the chance to go out and look for you guys. This is a busy place."

"It's alright. That's what Koushirou said."

The shock of seeing Jou was now passing, and Daisuke took a deep breath. "What did you do to my legs," he said, pulling the blanket from his body. He saw at his ankles, two golden rings with Digicode carved on the outside.

"That's Sorcerymon's handy work," Jou announced. "He runs the local magic shop and apothecary. After V-mon told us what happened to your legs, I had him create these golden rings. They'll give you a good amount of your motor ability back."

"I- I," Daisuke sputtered, "I, I can walk again?"

"Well, not right now," Gomamon said. "You got banged up pretty bad. XV-mon must be fat."

"Hey!" V-mon snapped. "If Ikkakumon had fallen on him he'd be dead! And I fell on him _twice_ and he's still relatively okay."

"Relatively," Gomamon repeated.

Jou laughed, hten picked up Gomamon. He said to Daisuke, "Get some more rest. You should be up and running, or walking at least, by tomorrow. Are you hungry? I can have some food sent to you."

"If it's not a bother."

Jou laughed. "It'll be up in a few minutes. I have some work to do, but I'll check back in tonight."

"Okay," Daisuke said. Jou walked towards the door, and just when he was almost out Daisuke said, "Thanks for saving me and XV-mon."

"No problem. What're friends for?"

**

"You've gotten better at this, Daisuke," Jou said. A chair was pulled up to Daisuke's bed and a small table with a chessboard sat atop it. A large candle lit the room as Jou and Daisuke played. He was now strong enough to sit up and dangle his legs over the bed.

"I wasn't very patient with stuff like this," he said, "back home."

"Check," Jou said.

"Guess patience isn't much of a virtue," Daisuke grumbled.

"Actually, we've been playing for almost an hour. The old you would have gone mad by the first ten minutes." He moved another piece.

"Crazy what a place like this can do to a person."

"You were never trapped in the Digital World," Jou explained. "Faced with something like that, a person can change."

Daisuke nodded. "I always had the option to come home. We were never really in any danger in the Digital World."

"Whereas I and the older kids couldn't come home. At first, we had no idea where we were. It was very scary. I myself was quite eccentric those days."

"Tai told me once that you almost had a heart attack over the ways the others liked eggs."

Jou straightened his glasses. "You should pay more attention to the game. Checkmate."

"Aw man," Daisuke sighed. He helped Jou to replace the pieces into their box and pushed it underneath Daisuke's bed. "Jou, when do you think we can leave?"

"Leave?"

"Ya know, to go find the others."

Jou stopped to think for a moment. "I'm not sure I can leave this place."

"What do you mean you can't leave?" Daisuke snapped.

"I have responsibilities here," Jou said. "I can't just get up and leave."

"You're first responsibility is to your friends!"

"Calm down. The others will find each other even if I don't go."

"What if they all had your attitude? No one would find anyone. These are your friends, man. You can't just turn your back on them!"

Jou stared at him for a moment.

"You can't abandon them. At least you would have your Digimon, but Gabumon is out there all alone! What if they did the same to you, back in the Digital World? Would you have survived?! They need you!"

Jou sighed and sat back down across from Daisuke. "I would be leaving everything behind."

"Don't be so selfish," Daisuke scowled, "the other's _are_ everything."

"You need time to recover. We could leave in two weeks, no sooner!"

Daisuke's eyes lit up and he shook Jou's shoulders, thanking him for coming back to his senses. It was then settled that they would go and find those that they lost. Gomamon and V-mon were both told of the places. Both agreed to the plans obediently.

**

"So these dark forces," Jou said, "have been chasing you and Koushirou and Yamato?"

Daisuke was getting use to using his legs again. It was a strange sensation to walk after so long of not being able to. They walked through a dense forest with Gomamon and V-mon following behind them. It seemed as if Daisuke had spent a lot of time in the forest. A town was said to be about ten miles pass the growth.

"Pretty much," he said. "We were attacked after we found Koushirou, and again at the monastery."

Jou thought for a moment. "Perhaps these forces are tracking you through your Digivices. It's plausible that when two or three Digivives are together, they become easier to track."

"I never thought of that."

"It would explain the attacks. But we would have to know the patterns of attacks that the others had to face before the theory could be more concrete. Have you tried to email the others?"

"I don't have my D-Terminal," Daisuke sighed. "Neither did Koushirou. I think they were taken away from us when we came to this world."

"Hmmm," Jou thought out loud. "That would stop any of you younger kids from Armor Digivolving."

Daisuke didn't say that he never thought of that. There were many things that Daisuke didn't think about, so why bother to tell Jou. "If Digivice signals increase with proximity, then it might be easier to find Yamato and Koushirou if they have found some of the others."

"Yeah, but they could be anywhere now. It's been a long time since you have seen them. Over half a year. You might have not been traveling the same direction as them."

Daisuke kicked a rock that lay in his way. It bounced off a tree and settled back to the ground. "There must be something we can do other than walk around."

"Not by the looks of it. All we can do is continue on to the north since that was where you said Koushirou and Matt were going."

"At least my D-3 works now." Daisuke fiddled with the controls cycling through Digimon, Detect, and Discover. He was foolish enough to get excited when a Digivice reading came onto the screen, but soon realized it was just Jou.

Jou rubbed the hair on Daisuke's head. "You're a good kid."

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
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Authors Notes: -This story is kinda getting repedative. Im thinking really hard of ways to make it interesting, but for now just deal with the same 'found another one' theme that this story seems to be taking.


	11. Chapter Eleven

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 11**

"It's so beautiful," Hikari said to herself. High above the clouds the dragon of heaven soared where it belonged the most. She flew with the utmost majesty and modesty, flapping her ten wings in a pattern so elegantly slow. They're steady flight had lasted days, and it seemed as if they were getting no where, but that was the least of their thoughts. Though the air was thin and the temperature was cold, Hikari gazed upon the world below her with her lover by her side that held her tightly.

"Can we please fly a bit closer to the ground?!" Takeru pleaded, keeping on arm tightly around Hikari and the other holding on even more tightly to the mane around Holy Dramon's neck.

She pecked him on the cheek, such innocence. "A little down, okay?"

"As long as he stops pulling my hair," her angel said. Hikari patted her on the head.

Her holy beast was massive, the size of a house back home. She was perfect for the long flights across the horizon and made for a stable craft. Takeru might have had a heart attack if Angemon had dared to fly him up so high in his arms, dangling over the landscape. Takeru eased up a bit, but still held tightly onto Holy Dramon and kept his eyes closed.

"You were never afraid of heights before," Hikari mused.

"We were never this high up before!' Takeru whined.

She touched his hair with her hand, slowly stroking across his head like a mother. As he relaxed, he managed to sit up and lean against Holy Dramon's head next to Hikari. Patamon crawled up into Takeru's arms where he held him tightly.

"Don't tell me you're scared, too," Hikari said.

"No," Patamon announced. "It's cold up here."

"You guys," Hikari laughed.

"Hikari," said Holy Dramon. "Look ahead, it's a flying island."

She propped herself on Holy Dramon's back and looked forward. She was right, a huge island that looked like an iceberg of stone and rock. Falls of water fell from the sides down through the clouds to the ground that couldn't be seen as the flat top of the floating landmass was covered with trees and buildings right up to the edge. The underside looked as if it had been ripped from the ground, like an upside-down mountain. Many buildings were also on the underside, built into the rock itself. There was a cave to the underside, perhaps a place for flying Digimon to come and go. Something seemed dead about the city, there was no movement or signs of life. Many of the buildings had been destroyed, and lay in rubble on the surface of the burg. Vines and trees had overgrown over the walls of the buildings that managed to survive the ravages of time.

"Do you want to check it out, Takeru?" Hikari asked.

He looked up from where he was sitting, holding both Holy Dramon and Patamon close. "Sure okay, just sit down please you might fall!"

She laughed at him and told Holy Dramon to fly ahead, to land at the top of the floating city. She figured the city must have kept itself floating using levitation crystals, but the reason why they would do so seemed a mystery at that time. It looked as if an entire kingdom sat atop that island in the sky, as Holy Dramon set down on the outer edges of the city.

**

"TK!" A voice from the other room yelled. "Sweetie, I can't take you to school today, could you walk?"

"It's no problem, Mom!" he yelled back. He ran a comb through his hair before straightening the tie around his neck. He sighed and pulled around his black jacket and buttoned it up to the collar around his neck. Takeru loathed his High School uniforms, although Hikari had once told him it was cute. Making sure his book were all in order, he jammed them in his attaché and walked out of his room. He could hear his mother's furious typing on the keyboard as she wrote whatever it was that she wrote.

TK tossed his bag by the door and ran into his mother's study to kiss her on the cheek and say goodbye. She told him that he looked extra nice that day, like she said everyday. As Takeru walked down the stairs of his apartment complex, he wondered what today would bring that was not brought on any other day. He figured today would be no different from days before.

"I had the weirdest dream last night," Hikari said. They met each other on the streets as Takeru made way for school. She had the schools dark blue dress and white shirt with a sailor scarf on. Although Takeru saw here like that all the time, it didn't stop him from thinking she was cute in it. "This little white cat-thing was running towards me. But it didn't look like a cat-cat. It was like one of those Pokemon things."

"Weird," he said. He stretched his neck out and it made a loud cracking sound that relieved him.

"That's gross, TK," Hikari complained. "Don't do that in front of girls."

He gave a stupid smile and asked why.

"It's not something we like."

"Or maybe something that _you_ don't like," Takeru said. "It might only bother some."

"Go find a girl that isn't grossed out by that and I'll give you a dollar," she said.

"I want more than a dollar," Takeru teased. As they got closer to the school, Takeru saw a small group of girls. They were the cheerleaders for Takeru's basketball team, and when they saw him they all managed to surround him, leaving Hikari outside the circle. They told him how nice he looked that day, and how well he scored last game, and whether he had plans the following weekend.

Takeru stuttered as he tried to answer each girl once, but gave up and said, "Um, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go."

"What? Why?!" the group complained in unison.

Takeru looked around helplessly for Hikari. She was standing against a wall a few feet away from the mob. "Hikari needs my help on some math, uh, stuff. Yeah, that's it." He squirmed out of the circle and ran to Hikari's side. He waved at the girls before walking along with her. Hikari couldn't help but giggle.

"You're so popular with the ladies," she said.

Takeru could hear the group whispering as Takeru and Hikari walked away together. Most people did that whenever he and Hikari were together. Lot's of talk, but TK could only wish what they were saying was true. TK blushed and said, "They're just friends."

"Right," she trailed.

Takeru stepped in front of her and walked backwards with Hikari. He threw his bag over his shoulder and watched Hikari. "You look nice today," he squeaked.

She blushed a little from the compliment. "Thanks. You too."

And that was what each morning was like. In the distance, Takeru could see something flying. It looked like a bat and it flew over the cars that filled the streets. But it faded away, and Takeru thought that he must have been imagining things.

"My brother told me a little dinosaur was chasing him in his dreams," Hikari said. "A little orange one."

"You're whole family must just be weird," he teased.

Hikari pushed him on the chest playfully, but she let her hand linger there on his shirt as she felt his body. She wondered what the rest of his body felt like, and what it would be like for it to touch her. She blinked a few times, and pulled her hand back, before smiling and forcing Takeru to turn around.

"You're going to walk into something like that," she preached.

Later on, it was dark and Takeru was cold and alone. He could feel cold and hot sweat trickle down his body but his body wouldn't move. A dark figure before him laughed and reached down for him, beckoning him into his massive hand. Takeru wanted to run and hide, but his limbs were weak and wouldn't move. He was alone with his fears. He didn't think of where he was or how he was there, only that there was no place to go and no way to get there.

Taichi chased them from behind, running upwards asking them to slow down. "Hey, guys." He was wearing the blue headband around his head like he did when they were younger. It made him seem all the more innocent and childish. "So where are you two off to?"

"School," Hikari said. "Where do you think?"

"Knowing you two, skipping and going off alone somewhere," he snickered. He pointed a finger at Takeru. "You watch out. She's crazy."

Hikari pushed him into the wall of bushes that they walked by, yelling for him to shut up and leave them alone.

"You know I'm just playing around." He averted his eyes quickly, as if hearing something from behind. Nothing was there, but when he turned back around to face forward he stopped and froze with a frightened gaze.

Hikari saw true fear and confusion in his eyes. He wasn't joking around this time. "What is it," she began to shake his shoulders. "Tai what's wrong?"

"Don't-don't you see it?" he squeaked.

"See what?" Takeru said.

"It's the little dinosaur," he pointed forward to nothing that Hikari or Takeru could see. "He's talking, but I can't hear him. Don't you see him?!"

Hikari was terrified at Taichi's words. Was he going mad? Were the figures that haunted the nights of his dreams released into his world of day? She shook him but he didn't say another word.

"Taichi!" It was a voice from behind. Neither Taichi nor Hikari moved an inch as he stared into nothingness and Hikari stood staring at him. Takeru turned, a girl Taichi's age was waving as she ran up to the small group.

She pulled on Taichi's arm to turn him around, breaking him from his vision. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Hey, what's up?"

Taichi blinked a few times before regaining himself. He smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "What's up with you?"

This girl was obviously Taichi's girlfriend, as she stared into his eyes with that look of childish love. Takeru and Hikari exchanged glances, but Hikari's was worried and confused. She cleared her voice loudly and kicked her elder brother in the leg.

"Oh," he said. "Yumi, this is my little sister Hikari and her boyfriend Takeru."

"He's not my boyfriend, Tai!" she complained. That one comment had made her forget what had just happened.

Takeru just stood there with a blushing face and a stupid grin as he waved childishly at her. Hikari drilled Taichi of who this girl was and why no one had even mentioned anything to her and how her own brother wouldn't tell her that he had a girlfriend and that she seemed to be a very nice person. This went on for several minutes before Takeru decided to save his friend Tai by pulling on Hikari's arm.

"We should get going," he said. "We have classes."

Hikari sighed, then glared at her brother once more before they said goodbye and left. The school was not more than a few blocks away. "I've never seen that girl before," she said. "I wonder who she is."

Takeru shrugged. "Ionno."

"He makes me so angry sometimes," she clenched her fist and imagined her brother ahead of him. She shook it off and asked, "Did we have math homework?"

"Math homework?"

She thought about her request. It must have been automatic, something she often asked. But as she thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she had math homework, or math class at all.

Takeru must have been thinking the same thing, as he said, "I don't remember anything about math. I don't even remember what classes we have today."

Yumi appeared ahead of them, popping out of a corner without any notice. She waved them upwards and said, "Hey you guys! We have PE together."

"Really?" Takeru said. "Aren't you in high school?"

"Nope," she announced. "8th grader."

Hikari was annoyed that her older brother was dating a girl in middle school. "Why do you have 7th grade PE then?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. But I do! Isn't it cool? We can get to know each other now. Let's go!" She pulled on both their arms and ran them the rest of the way to school.

Outside the doors to the school, Hikari asked, "Yumi, how did you meet my brother?"

Her eyes shifted from side to side as if to hide something. She struggled with her words that were inaudible until the bell rang in time to save her from an explanation. She dragged them into the school with nothing spoken and they broke up to go to the different locker rooms.

Takeru slowly made his way out after changing. Something wasn't right with anything. Nothing around him was familiar, not as it should have been. The people he didn't know were no longer around. The familiar faces that he was not necessarily aquatinted to seemed to have disappeared from the school. Everyone around was faceless to him. Nothing was right.

He felt Hikari's hand on his arm. He turned and they stared into each other eyes for a long moment alone in the huge hallway. They seemed to speak to one another with their eyes, before Hikari broke the silence. "Something isn't right, TK."

He nodded. "No one here seems real. Only you, Yumi, and your brother. Everyone else I've seen today seemed dead to me."

She nodded and let her arm brush against his chest. "It's like we're in the Dark Digital World." She blinked a few times after she said that.

"The what?" those words seemed familiar to him. "What are you talking about."

"I, I'm not sure," she whispered. Those words just seemed to come from deep in her mind as she now had no idea what she meant. Those words, Digital World, had little meaning to her. What was the Digital World? And why was it Dark?

Takeru drilled into her soul with his eyes, but neither had an answer to the questions that weren't asked. Yumi found them together and she dragged them along to class.

**

A figure of white light appeared before him and destroyed the darkness. Everything was white now, and the figure turned and smiled at Takeru. It was an angel, smiling down upon Takeru's battered little body. He was speaking to him, but Takeru couldn't hear a word. He couldn't hear anything, not even his own screams. Only the pounding of his heart in his ears and the feeling of total helplessness. The angel flashed in bright light and exploded into feathers, and the darkness that surrounded them was gone. Only Takeru remained alone in a valley of white light.

He awoke in a cold sweat, breathing hard as he recalled the visions of his dream.

He told Hikari of his dream the next day. She looked at him cautiously before saying, "Last night I dreamt of an angel saving me from a vampire."

"A vampire?"

"Yeah," she said. "It's weird. Then when the vampire was gone, the cat thing came back and it smiled at me."

Takeru thought of the coincidences and patterns of both their dreams. "I think my angel saved me from a devil or something."

"What are you guys talking about?" Daisuke asked accusingly.

"Nothing," Takeru said. He and Daisuke shared a glare before Miyako started complaining about the school's food. They ate lunch together without any other meaningful conversation.

Several days later, Takeru rested his head against his pillow and wondered what the visions meant. Three days in a row, TK had dreamt of the angel shining over a mountain like the sun rising over it. He saved Takeru from the same dark figure each time, then disappeared into nothingness. Each day he would tell Hikari. She had similar dreams, as did Taichi about an orange dinosaur. And with each passing day, the walks to school seemed quieter, the surroundings dimmer. The people around were no longer people. They seemed like mindless zombies walking back and forth through a life that wasn't real.

_What does it all mean?_

He drifted into sleep, to be greeted by the angel again. He spoke, but Takeru couldn't hear his words. A flash of light, and Hikari stood before him. Takeru wasn't conscious of his dreams and he didn't know what was going on. Hikari was young. They were young again.

She begged him to help her, to save her.

Takeru couldn't save her. His body was frozen and rigid and there was no way to save the one he secretly loved. An angel appeared before them. This one was different, more majestic and elegant. It rescued the two of them, and cracked the mask of a clown in its hands.

Takeru's eyes flew open as he sat up in bed. Before his eyes was a small animal, the size of a dog. Its ears were like a bats' wings and it used them to keep itself in the air above Takeru's bed. The orange creature was transparent, and Takeru could see his bookshelf behind the creature through its body. "TK can you hear me!?" it pleaded, before the creature vanished. Takeru didn't sleep again that night.

"The angel became a dragon," she said early the next day. She continued to recall her latest dream. "It saved me from a black dinosaur."

"My angel became a bigger angel, and cracked a mask in his hands," Takeru said. "This is really getting weird, because when I woke up, a flying rabbit thing was in front of me. It asked me if I could hear him, then disappeared."

"Hikari!" a voice echoed. Both she and Takeru could hear it. They looked around the crowded hallways of their school for the voice, a voice that seemed to come from close to the ground. The bell rang, and students piled out for to class. The faceless crowds of people with no souls filtered down until the hall was empty. With the hall empty, Takeru and Hikari stood. The little white cat stood before the two of them, crying.

Hikari bent down and tried to touch it, but her hands passed through. The sound of the cat's crying faded away, as it tried to speak to Hikari. No words came from its small mouth even though it clearly moved. Her body became transparent, before she disappeared.

"Takeru!" another voice said. Hikari stood up and turned to see TK looking at an orange animal with wings flying in front of him. Helplessly, it tried to touch Takeru but its little hands passed through Takeru's body. The creature cried like the cat, before it disappeared.

They stood there for several minutes not speaking. Their friend Yumi found the two standing alone together in the empty hallways. "Why aren't you guys in class?" she asked.

They didn't say anything. Vacant looks covered their faces.

"You wonder why people talk about you two," she said. "Come on, let's get to class."

She playfully grabbed their arms and dragged them along to their class. She pushed them into the room and stopped to look down both directions of the hall. Yumi saw the rabbit and the cat. She glared at the two of them before walking into the classroom.

**

"This is all just so strange," Takeru said. He looked around the park to see no one around. Nothing but the birds and the trees and Hikari. It was long after school and Takeru didn't feel the need to go to basketball practice. None of his teammates seemed to care about the game. All of their plays were lazy and easy for Takeru to beat these past few days. It was as if they were different people.

"I can hear her voice in my mind," Hikari said. "She's scared. She's waiting for me. But I don't know who she is." Hikari was close to tears.

"It's like a part of myself that I left behind," Takeru sighed. "Something from another life. I think that all those visions are memories from another lifetime. Something mystical."

She sighed and leaned against Takeru's sighed. "Have you noticed nothing seems real anymore? I hugged my mom before I went to school today, and she didn't seem real. Only when I talk to my brother or you or Yumi do I feel like I'm actually talking to another human."

"Hey guys," a voice said from behind them. Yumi seemed to appear from nowhere, as she greeted her two friends. She came around the park bench and sat down. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing much," Hikari said. "Just thinking."

"About those visions?" Yumi asked. Taichi must have told her about them as well.

"Yeah," said Takeru.

"It's probably nothing," Yumi assured. "You guys are find just forget about all that stuff. Let's go see a movie or something."

Hikari was bothered by how Yumi didn't seem to care that both she and Takeru were greatly disturbed by these visions. She could hear footsteps nearby. Careful steps from soccer shoes. Her brother Taichi stepped over and took Yumi by the hands and kissed her on the cheek.

She glowed with the love that she felt for Tai. She kissed him back and said hello. "Let's go see a movie," she said to him.

"You want to?" he replied.

"Sure."

He looked down at Hikari and Takeru and asked if they wanted to go. Far across the park they heard a crash as something hit the ground, uprooting several trees, and creating a crater in the earth. Hikari and Takeru both stood to go see what was happening, and as they started to run with Tai, Yumi yelled, "No! Let's go this might be dangerous! We have to go!" She pulled on Tai's arm.

He broke free and assured her that they would be fine.

Nothing was in the crater. Not a beast, not a comet, not anything. Nothing had made the indentation in the land, and as the three wondered what was happening, another crater appeared to their left. It was as if some invisible mass was repeatedly being thrown against the ground.

In a flash of light, a creature appeared in the hole. It was a black dragon of some sort, with a metalic face and cybernetic implants on its arms. The creature was translucent, and Takeru wondered if it was there or not.

A translucent angel appeared and struck the creature with his long staff, it the angel from Takeru's visions. Another angel appeared a moment later, this one was a woman. She shot an arrow of light towards the beast. The park was totally silent as this occurred, making everything all the more eerie and frightening.

The three figures disappeared, fading away into the sky without a sound. The four children stood in the silence of the park, before they began to hear shouts and other sounds coming form all around. There were crashes and yelling. A male's voice shouted something that none could understand with a very heroic tone. The woman shouted after him. Then a groaning roar from what could have been the dragon.

The landscape suddenly turned black and white, flashing between color and monochrome. Yumi begged them to come back with her to safety. In a flash of light, the park was no longer alive with trees or birds. The trees were dead, most were burnt. No life was anywhere to be seen.

Everything was still black and white when Takeru looked up above at the city that was no longer a city. The once tall buildings were now gone, replaced with the ruins of alien walls and materials of architecture Takeru had never seen. The angels were now clearly visible, fighting the black dragon.

There was another flash, and the park returned to color and the trees were filled with leaves. "What is going on?!" Takeru screamed.

"Takeru!"

"Hikari!"

Two echoing voices from above pleaded for them.

"Can you hear us?" they yelled.

"Yes!" Hikari cried. "Who are you?"

"Try to remember, Hikari," the woman's voice said. "I am your Angewomon."

"Takeru," the man's voice bellowed, "I am your Angemon. Try to remember us!"

"Angemon?" Takeru whispered to himself.

"No!" Yumi cried. "Don't listen to them. They want to hurt you! Please, let's all go home!"

"Don't listen to her," the woman's voice said. "She's trying to control you. Try to remember us!"

Sounds of fighting continued until there was another crash and another crater appeared on the ground. Takeru and Hikari strained to remember everything they could about the two voices. They had two Digimon. One was a small white cat that was once evil. But, with the light of Hikari's heart, returned to the side of good. The other was an orange rabbit that could fly, he was born from the hope that Takeru carried in his soul. They were angels sent from higher powers to protect them from evil.

"Yumi, what's going on?" Hikari snapped. "You know what's going on, don't you."

"Don't talk to her like that," Tai snapped. "Can't you see she's scared."

"She's not scared," Takeru said. "She knows what's happening here. Tell us!"

Yumi started to cry, and held onto her Taichi tightly. She buried her face in his chest as Tai yelled at both his sister and Takeru. The vision of the park faded away and the dead kingdom returned. The two angels set down behind Takeru and Hikari.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," Yumi sobbed. "All I wanted was my prince. Nothing more."

"Yumi, what are you talking about?" Taichi said.

"I'm sorry my prince."

"Taichi!" a third voice. He turned to see an dragon that looked like the black one, except this one was orange and had legs. "Taichi!"

"You're made of metal," he whispered softly.

"Taichi, you can see me," he said.

"Metal…"

"Taichi, let go of the vision," he said.

"I'm so sorry, Tai. I didn't have the power. I will always love you," Yumi said. She faded away and Taichi was standing alone with torn clothes and a look of utter confusion. Hikari pulled him away and she took him away from the dead kingdom of forgotten dreams. It was over.

**

"It's starting to come back to me," Taichi said, as he held tightly onto his Agumon. "I was a prince of that floating kingdom, and Yumi was my princess. But I left one day to search for my sister and my friends, and when I returned, the kingdom was destroyed, my people were dead, my princess was gone.

"I think that she created a world from my memories because the time that I spent there was with dwelling on the past. Dwelling on what I left behind and those I use to be close to. She wanted me for herself because we loved each other so deeply. Her spirit wanted me to never leave her side, so she created a world what I would never want to leave. Her undead soul couldn't let go of the life that she could have had with me.

"She couldn't control Agumon's mind, though. Not like me. Digimon are not as susceptible to those kinds of mind control, I guess. Everyday I walked through that dead city followed by my Digimon who I couldn't see. It probably went on for months and months, and he continued to follow me. So loyal…" he trailed off.

"And then we came," Takeru said, as he stroked Patamon's back.

"She had a kind heart," Taichi said. His voice cracked now, as stray tears fell from his eyes onto Agumon, the orange little dinosaur. "She knew I cared about you two, so instead of killing you or banishing you from our home, she integrated you into our fantasy world without any of us knowing." He looked across the skies distantly at what he left behind. "May you finally rest in peace, Yumi."

Hikari placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. They shared a look only siblings could see, and Taichi smiled. "I'm glad you found us. If it weren't for you, I would have been alone on that graveyard for the rest of my life. Her powers of mind control must not have been strong enough to hide the images of the Digimon from all three of us. That's why you two had visions every night whereas I only had one vision the whole time. She spent most of her energy keeping my past buried deep within me."

"If that Mega Dramon hadn't attacked," Patamon said, "I don't think any of you would have ever realized we were there."

"Her spirit," Taichi said, "was tied into the dead rock. When the evil Digimon broke the feiled of energy in that city she lost her powers of the afterworld. She lost grip on the dream. By the time you destroyed Mega Dramon, the hand she kept around the fantasy was so loose that the three of us already remember too much, and she faded away. It's why we remembered. Please do not hate her for what she did. All she wanted was happiness," he pleaded. "She deserved that much."

Agumon looked up at Taichi. "It's okay, Tai."

"I'm sorry I left you alone all those months."

"It's no problem." He nudged his snout against Taichi's chin. "It's good to be together again."

Tai smiled. "Anyway, when did Gatomon turn into a flying dog?" he asked as he patted the soft pink hair that they sat on top of.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Anyone who read the original chapter 11 might notice some changes, but the main idea is the same. I hope that this rewrite is clearer, I know that the last one was choppy.


	12. Chapter Twelve

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 12**

Perhaps it was the sullen look of despair and pain that he had in his eyes that had attracted her to him in the first place as they sat by the ocean in the middle of the night. Nothing but the sound of silence and the ocean reached them as Yamato sat on the rocks of the beach staring up to the night's sky.

She sat next to Yamato without a word, dropping herself to the ground in a swift motion. Her hair flew upwards and then back down. She watched him look up as if he hadn't even notice her arrive. His features were like a statue with a cold lethargy in his gaze as the waves crashed against the shore.

"Yamato," Sora said. "It's a beautiful night."

He didn't respond, continuing to look endlessly into the sky. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath of the darkness before he lay on his back and looked up to his friend. "What do you think is in the space of this world?"

She shrugged. "Why are you still awake," she said, straining to see him in the darkness. "It's kinda late."

"Couldn't sleep, just thinking."

"About what?"

He sighed. "Nothing really."

"Nothing?"

"I don't really know how to explain it," he said. "I feel this darkness within myself that I felt the first day I was in this world. It's only gotten stronger over all this time. It's not really a dark part of me though; it feels like something close to me. Like a distant voice being silenced by darkness."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," he struggled with his words. "I don't know anymore. Something about this place doesn't seem right, other than the obvious. There's something that's destroying a part of me. Something evil."

"Could it be the guys that have been attacking us?"

"I don't think so. That would be way to simple and easy to figure out. It's something deeper and subtle. Something deep within my mind. I just can't explain it."

"We can figure it out together." She let her hand fall to his in what seemed to be an idle and innocent motion, as if by accident. In the darkness of the night with only the dim moonlight to shine on them and the unseen eyes of the world, Yamato and Sora stared into each others deep and gazing eyes for what seemed like hours with not a motion or breath between them.

There were several minutes of silence before a beeping from both their pockets broke the nights calm. There were signals, strong signal.

Yamato stood up with his Digivice and looked out towards the ocean where the signal came from. He held it tightly as Sora stood up as well, looking to the east where another signal came. Behind them, Mimi and Koushirou arrived with the Digimon holding their Digivices which had quickly awaken them from their sleep.

"Across the ocean," Koushirou said. "Let's go now."

Yamato shook his head. "We have to split up," he said. Koushirou only then noticed the second signal that appeared on his screen.

Panjamon came forward from the trees to the group that congregated on the beach. "We must act quickly young master," he said. "The Monochromon have grown tired and we are out of heavy supplies as it is. I think its best for us to free them and then split up into two groups. I will accompany two of you towards the east, as the other two go across the ocean."

Yamato nodded. "Sora and I will take Birdramon across the ocean."

Koushirou stared at him for a moment. Mimi said, "Wouldn't it be better if Sora and Koushirou go together since they both have Digimon that can fly?"

Yamato thought for a moment, before Panjamon said, "Perhaps it would be better if we split the two flyers. If something should happen on land, we may have to go across the ocean to meet with the others."

Koushirou stared at his Digivice in thought before saying, "Mimi and Sora should go across the ocean and Yamato, Panjamon and I should go to the east. That way there would be two Digimon between us. It makes the most sense, and would be safest against attack. If you," he said looking to Yamato, "go with Sora then there will only be one Digimon to defend the two of you."

"And Palmon can become Lillymon anyway," Mimi said, "so it makes the most sense."

Yamato gave Sora and desperate glance. Neither could think of a way of escaping Koushirou's logic, so they both nodded. "Alright, it's settled. We meet back here in a week. If something happens then one group will go to where the signals were to find the others."

Sora nodded as Biyomon flew into the air above them. "We have to be quick. We don't want to lose the signals. Hopefully whoever is out there is looking for us too. Biyomon Digivolve to…Birdramon! Quick, Mimi, Sora, Palmon, hop on."

The three of them jumped onto her back before looking back at the boys. They waved goodbye and wished them luck before Birdramon took to the air. She disappeared into the darkness not long after.

"Tentomon Digivolve to…Kabuterimon!" Koushirou jumped onto his giant beetle's back as Panjamon lifted Yamato up onto his shoulders. He held on tightly as Panjamon ran across the beach with the cold evening air blowing through his hair. Kabuterimon flew above at the same speed as the for of them focused on the their communal goal of reunification.

**

The day was starting to break and there was no site of land from either direction as Sora and Mimi made there way forward towards the horizon of the ocean. They both sat in silence wondering what would lie ahead just past the water's edge. As the wind blew through their hair, the dry salty air stuck to their throats with each breath. They seemed as if totally focused on the goal and nothing around them would affect them.

"Why do you think they're so quiet?" Palmon asked Birdramon, which was easy for her, since she sat atop Birdramon's head.

"They're probably thinking," the giant firebird answered. "Wondering where the signal is coming from."

"It's weird when they don't talk," Palmon whispered.

Birdramon agreed.

Mimi looked down at her Digivice that sat in her lap. It had been hours since they had seen land. Apparently the range of the Digivices were much farther than Koushirou had estimated. The tiny blue speck of color that blinked on the small screen was all that appeared. They had passed the range of the second signal some time ago.

She looked to Sora, who had a hard and serious look in her face. Mimi loosened up and poked Sora in the arm with two fingers. "Don't look so serious. You'll get a headache."

Sora gave a gentle smile.

"What were you and Yamato talking about last night?"

"Nothing really."

"Does he know?"

"Know what?" she asked.

"About how you feel."

"Uhh…"

"You should really tell him," Mimi urged.

"I..."

"Do you know how he feels?"

"Well…"

Mimi sighed. She had known Sora for several years now, and with each year their friendship seemed to drift more and more. They didn't even start out very good friends as it was. Mimi was a whiny little spoiled girl and Sora was a modest and athletic person. Their time in the Digital World helped them to understand where the other was coming from, and after their return home they managed to find more common ground with one another.

But with age comes change and Mimi and Sora could do nothing together other than drift about, even though they still felt the other was one of their most precious and cherished friends. Mimi whined less and didn't seem so spoiled, but she didn't have much time to play tennis or arrange flowers with Sora. Sora had little time away from sports or working at the flower shop to go shopping and boy hunting with Mimi. And then, Mimi moved to America, one of the events most destructive to their friendship.

The visits from America were always loving and well spent. Sora made it a point to be able to see Mimi and to have lunch with her. Anything to spend some time together. And then there was the new Digital World. Although the trip was quite unplanned, it brought Mimi and Sora closer together. The two of them grew up very quickly to survive, and in doing do, they managed to find a new part of each other that drew them closer than one could ever imagine.

"I still don't know how I might or might not feel about Yamato," Sora said with a sigh as she looked up to the sky. "There's still Taichi."

Although Tai had not been seen in nearly a year, the feelings that Sora had for him were real. Even though her feelings for him hadn't arisen from the depths of her mind until after she was separated from him, she still felt a strong connection to Taichi. It was as if the entire time they had known each other the feelings of love were within her waiting for the right moment to take over. They had an argumentative relationship, easily classified as if they were siblings. Any show of emotion between the two was with arguing and teasing, but behind the shouts was pure affection. Unfortunately, they took over during a period where they could not be acted on.

"Well," Sora said, "what about you and Koushirou?"

If there is one constant in the universe it _must_ be girl-talk.

Mimi smiled, sighed, and then averted her eyes away from Sora's. "What do you mean?" she said childishly.

"You think I don't see it."

"Before I thought he was just this smart short little funny kid that played with computers," she said. "But then he became the smart skinny funny kid that played with computers. Now, well, look at him."

Sora giggled.

"He's always been cute in a little brother kind of way," she said. "But he's like a grown up now. He's almost as tall as Yamato. I just think he's shy or something. He's nothing like the boys in America."

"What are they like?"

"Jerks," she laughed. "They talk funny and have this weird walk they use to try and impress girls."

Sora laughed until she glanced down to her Digivice. "It shouldn't be much farther from here, Birdramon," she said. She looked down again, the signal was moving now, coming closer to them. "The signal is moving towards us."

Palmon pointed outwards. "I see something!" she yelled as she pointed her leafy arms out towards the ocean.

They strained to see a tiny figure in the distance flying through the air towards them. "Are you sure it isn't an enemy Digimon, Sora?" Bridramon asked, beginning to think cautiously.

"Yeah," she said. "The signal isn't dark."

The figure ahead came forward much faster now, and in a matter of seconds it met up with Birdramon and stopped before the giant orange bird. It stayed motionless in the air, not believing what it saw before him. The green warrior insect carried with him his partner, who waved to Sora and Mimi.

"Hey Ken!" Mimi yelled, waving to him with plenty of energy. Sora did the same as Stingmon flew forward close enough for them to speak easily.

Ken smiled his gently smile and pushed strands of hair out of his face to the side. He was more rugged looking than before, but the femininity of his hair remained, and he still seemed kind and gentle. He said, "Hello old friends. I was wondering when you would arrive. Have you found any of the others?" he asked hopefully.

"Yamato and Koushirou are back on the coast," Palmon answered.

"Has anyone found you yet?" Sora asked.

"Nope," he said. "You're the first."

Mimi smiled. "Well, we should head back then and find Yamato and Koushirou. They're going after another signal."

Ken's face dropped for a moment. He said, "I can't go. Not yet at least."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"You should come back with me. I'll explain there." He motioned for Stingmon to return from where they came and they flew forward. Mimi looked at Sora for a moment wondering what it was that Ken meant. Birdramon followed Stingmon.

**

The island in which they stood on was not very large, in fact it was barely large enough to fit the small monument that lay upon it. The beach was not twenty feet away from the building made of granite and sandstone covered with Digicode markings and vines that grew from below. At the top stood a very think piece of stone with more markings around it, along with an elliptical circle that pointed upwards at the very top.

Ken guided Sora and Mimi and passed the beach along with Wormon on his shoulders. He told them again that he was very glad to see them both, and that it was a relief to see that they were well. He also apologized for not venturing passed his tiny home to find them or the others.

They walked down a spiral stairwell that began from the entrance to the monument that winded down for what seemed like miles. On the walls were paintings and carvings of more Digicode, and pictures depicting scenes of humans with Digimon, Digimon with Digimon, and Digimon fighting Digimon.

He opened a small door, and led the girls and Wormon into his underground chambers. Crystals hanging on the walls lit the cave and ceiling that glowed brightly, as their power source was unknown. Several more doorways and passageways, very large and open, began from that cave. Trees grew in the cave, fed by the underground water and the light of the crystals. Tiny little Digimon ran through the artificial environment laughing and playing. Almost all of them were nothing more than bouncing heads with eyes.

"This," Ken said, "is Primary Village. Or at least, that's what I like to call it."

**

"What is your name son?" the old and aged Jijimon asked.

"Ken," he said, trying his best to ignore the beast's terrible smell and poor hygiene. "I was wondering if you could help me find my way."

"How is it that you have come here?" the Jijimon asked. "This island is secret to charts and maps. I haven't had a visitor in ages."

"I'm not sure how I got here," Ken said, picking up Wormon. "What is this place?"

Through all the passages, through all of the chambers, through all of the crevices of the underground and underwater city, Jijimon showed Ken the way. It seemed to go on for miles across unknown land beneath the rushing and roaring ocean. Jijimon guided Ken to the lowest levels of caves. The room glowed with white light that came from nowhere and yet everywhere at once. The floor was dotted with eggs that seemed to appear from nowhere.

"This is the rookery, my boy," he said. "All this world's Digimon are born here."

"How is that possible?" Ken asked inquisitively.

"This world works in strange ways my young friend. You see, everything that lives and breaths on this world is created by the forces of those who surround them. You and I are made by the life force of every living creature here."

"But that's not possible," Ken said, shaking his head. "You describe a paradox. How could the life exist if something else created it, who is created by life forces that create them. Am I making any sense?"

"Yes you are my boy," the Jijimon agreed. "But some things you must leave to faith. The higher powers the created this world transcends time and cannot be fully understood. When a Digimon dies, their life force is converted into new Digimon. Reincarnation essentially."

"All Digimon?"

"Yes," he said.

"What about people?"

Jijimon shook his head. "Digimon are especially tied to this world. Without them, existence as we know it could not sustain itself, not on the life of humans alone."

"Why is that?"

"Why is it you ask so many questions? A Digimon is a very special entity. They can never be destroyed, only altered. They are the direct reflections of the physical world. That Wormon you care so deeply for is the symbol of what this world is."

"This is all very confusing."

"Yes, I can imagine. Come with me, you must be hungry from your journey."

"Well, it wasn't so much of a journey as it was a mistake."

"There are no such things as mistakes. Everything happens for a reason."

"Fate?"

"Some may call if fate."

Ken ate with a smile as a Yukimibotamon sat on his head, a Botamon on his shoulder, and a Punymon next to his plate as Jijimon told him story after story of his younger life. Wormon and Ken ate well that night, and aquatinted himself with several baby Digimon.

"Why is it you have come to be so kind to me, a stranger?" Ken asked gently.

"I can see that you have kindness in your heart, a quality that is hard to find in this world."

Ken looked away for a moment, "I have anything but kindness. I was once evil."

"Do not worry about it my boy."

"Thank you for showing me such warmth, Jijimon. I hope everyone on this world is as kind as you."

"Well, like I said, I haven't had visitors in quite a while." He laughed and took a drink from his wine before patting his huge hand on Ken's back. "You're alright."

**

"That night," Ken said, "I left with Stingmon in search of you and the others." He took a sip of tea as he, Sora, and Mimi sat around a small table in a tiny room adjacent to one of the larger main caves. "But I felt something as I was leaving."

"What was it?" Mimi asked with urgency. "A headache?"

"As Stingmon and I made it to the coast, I felt a deep and strange call for help inside. We turned around."

**

"Ken…" Jijimon lay on his back looking towards the night sky. The trees around were burned and several of the caves had collapsed. He pulled Ken by the collar closer to his face. "Ken, I am glad you returned." He managed to smile.

"What happened?" Ken asked, holding his tears. The injuries Jijimon had suffered were great and fatal. "Who did this to you?"

"It matters not," he said barely audible. "I was old either way."

"I can go for help, Stingmon and I can return with help," Ken pleaded.

"You are kind to offer. Remember, Ken, no Digimon ever dies." He breathed deeply. "Protect the children."

Ken didn't have the heart to tell Jijimon that all the fresh and in-training Digimon lay lifeless on the ground, the rookery in ruins with broken Digieggs scattered across the ground, but Jijimon seemed to hear his thoughts.

"They were young," he said, gasping for air. "They haven't known life yet. They will return, as will I, in one form or another."

"I will find who did this," Ken scowled.

"You're heart is too kind and too pure for revenge." Jijimon spoke those last few words, before he disappeared before Ken's eyes into the air as nothing but dust.

**

Mimi wiped a tear from her right eye. "Who was it that attacked?"

"Dark forces of this world," Ken said. "They were after me, I am almost sure of it. When they couldn't find me," he looked away. "When they couldn't find me, they ravaged the city and killed everyone in it. I brought death by simply existing."

"You've been here ever since," Sora stated.

"Someone had to stay at take care of the new breed," Ken said. "Jijimon appeared as well in his fresh form. I could feel it, but of course, he didn't remember his past life. I raised him like any other until he became a rookie Digimon and disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Mimi wondered.

"When the Digimon become rookies," Ken said before taking another sip of tea, "they are transported from here all across the world without knowledge of their past, only the lessons that I teach them for the world."

"So when they reappear," Mimi reiterated, "they don't remember Primary Village, but the remember what it means to be a good little Digimon? And how to talk and hunt for food and stuff like that?"

"Essentially," Ken said. "It's the only way to keep Primary Village safe, I suppose."

"Safe from what?" Sora thought. "Who would really want to destroy this place?"

"Someone who seeks to destroy the caretaker I bet," Ken added. "Every day I fear that whoever killed Jijimon would return for me. I'm sure that I was the target before. Stingmon is the only one who can protect me and the rest of the Digimon."

Sora and Mimi looked at each other. "We've been hunted as well. So have Koushirou and Yamato, Takeru and Hikari, and Daisuke. Dark Digimon have attacked us all at one time or another."

"Then it's true," Ken said. "We bring trouble wherever we go."

"That's one way of looking at it."

"So I hope you can understand why I cannot return with the two of you," Ken said. "Not until I can find a replacement."

"How will you do that?"

"I will know when it is time. When the next caretaker of Primary Village is born, I will be able to feel his presence, his energy. The one that connects to my soul in a way that I would only know and that would be able to cultivate into the next Digimon caretaker. He will warp Digivolve after I have taught him all I can teach, and become a very powerful Mega Digimon that can protect the young ones."

"How do you know that will happen?" Mimi asked.

"I can feel it," Ken said. "Somehow, I was destined to be the caretaker for a short time. I feel that the next one will be born soon." They were silent for a moment before Ken looked up with a smile to the two. "How much time will pass before you need to meet with Yamato and Koushirou?"

"A week," Sora said, vacantly. "Do you think you can find a new one before then?" she asked with wide eyes.

Ken shook his head but smiled. "I'm sorry Sora. But rest assure I will join with you and the others soon."

"We have to have some way for you to keep track of us," Mimi said. "We can't just _leave_ and be split up again."

"I'll find you," Ken said. "You don't need to worry."

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: I didn't change as much in this chapter as I did with chapter 11 in the rewrite, but I think this version is a little clearer.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 13**

"Wow I feel so alive I can't believe how good I feel!" Jou yelled at the top of his lungs. He breathed in the warm spring air taking it deep into his body as it revitalized every fiber of his soul. It was as if he had been reborn the day Daisuke took him from his life as a makeshift doctor in a city filled with sick and unthankful people. "I can't believe it's such a beautiful day I feel like a million digidollars!"

Daisuke buried his face into his shirt that he used to cushion himself against what he thought was the cold and hard ground, but which Jou professed to be as comfortable as a pile of Yukimibotamon. "Is he always like this?" he mumbled through his clothes to Gomamon.

"He hasn't shouted like that since he was little," Gomamon said. "First time we were in the Digital World."

"What was he like back then?" Daisuke asked. He didn't know Jou before he grew up and became the calm and dignified medical student that he knew. The stories had painted the picture of a neurotic and somewhat over thinking young man who was never truly sure of himself. A total contrast to what Daisuke saw each time Jou would visit.

"Wake up Daisuke!" Jou shouted gently kicking at his friend's back. "Today's the day, I feel it."

"For what?" Daisuke said with a muffled voice from his clothes and with little enthusiasm.

"Today is the day we find the others! Mimi! Sora! Tai! Yamato! Takeru! Hikari! Miyako! Iori! Ken! And Koushirou! Every one of them!"

"Go away you nutjob," Daisuke grumbled while he pushed Jou's leg away from him.

"What kind of attitude is that?" Jou asked as he placed his fists at his hips. "Kari will never carry your children with that kind of thinking."

Daisuke slowly looked up and glared at Jou with menacing eyes. He reluctantly pushed himself off the ground and stood up to stare at Jou who towered over him at least a head in height. "What makes today any different."

"I can feel it, can't you?" Jou said. He shoved his Digivice in Daisuke's face. "You see this!? This is the same Digivice that guided me through the Digital World to victory! Despite what the others may say, I was the key to our victories both in and out of the Digital World." He nodded triumphantly.

Daisuke sighed. Jou's hyperactive nature had been building up each day since they left the hospital and today it seemed to be at its worst. He sighed. "Okay fearless leader, where to."

"That way!" he pointed out randomly with a hard jerk of his arm.

"That would be the way we came," V-mon said.

"Well," Jou said, "then we go that way!" He pointed the opposite direction quickly, almost falling over. "That way! Head west young Daisuke!"

"You mean north, don't you?" Daisuke wondered.

"Right!" Jou shouted.

They were running across the open fields with their Digimon to their sides not far behind. Through the heavy sunlight they were nothing but silhouettes against the horizon. With the wind behind their backs and fire in their souls they four were ready to go across the entire world to find those that they loved. Most of their energy was localized in Jou, but it didn't matter. As him as leader, he would lead Daisuke and their Digimon to glory and reunification.

Around noon, Daisuke was sick of walking and running through the empty planes and asked V-mon to evolve and fly them the rest of the way to the next settlement that was said to not be much farther over a mountain in the near distance.

"Are you crazy?" Jou exclaimed. "We have to get there on our own. You kids today. When I was in the Digital World, we walked fifty miles in the snow to get to where we were going, and we didn't even know where we were going! We saved our Digimon to defend us. Not like you kids who Digivolve when you see a stick in the road. I bet you don't even know your rookie's attacks."

Daisuke's left eye twitched. "Sure I do, it's V-head Butt," he said triumphantly.

"And Hawkmon and Armadillomon?" V-mon asked.

Daisuke pointed his fist at V-mon. "You aren't helping."

"You're right, I'm not helping," V-mon snickered. He and Gomamon shared a few laughs.

"Agumon's attack is Pepper Breath," Jou nodded. "Spiral Twister, Marching Fishes, Bone Bubble, Lightning Paw, Poison Ivy, Blue Blaster, and none other than Super Shocker!" He pointed his finger at Daisuke. "Sound familiar?!"

Daisuke's eyes thinned as he stared at Jou confused by, well, by pretty much everything at that point. "No."

"That's the point!"

"What point?"

"I don't know! Why must I be the one to figure everything out?" Jou snapped, not angrily, but with great emotion.

"Jou listen to yourself you've totally flipped out!" Daisuke said as he started shaking Jou by the shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself!"

Jou laughed. "You're a good kid. You would have done okay with the old group."

"Right," Daisuke paused. "What ever you say."

"But really, Daisuke. You should learn to let your V-mon fight," Jou mused. "He is at a very special stage of his life. I don't think I've ever let you see him fight without a Digivolving or Armor Digivolving. It'll help your Digimon to mature and gain more power. You can't waste his energy because _you_ are tired. What if we were attacked?"

Although he seemed insane and his words were slurred and fast, Jou made some sense. So they made a compromise there in the middle of nowhere to walk, but to take things slowly with one foot in front of the other and not wondering what the foot would do after the last step. Jou told Daisuke stories of the old Digital World, but for some reason many of them seemed to be embellished on the part of Jou.

"Yes, I did save Mimi," Jou assured. "We wouldn't have won without me," he suddenly became sad and lowered his voice to a sullen tone. "But even I wasn't enough to keep both her and Leomon safe. He died protecting the two of us."

"He, he died?" Daisuke asked. He couldn't quite believe it.

"We like to think he was reconfigured or reformatted. But the truth is, there will never be another Leomon. The Digimon that was born from Leomon's information was most likely not the same Digimon we knew. He wouldn't have had the memories of the Digimon we knew. Only the spirit."

Daisuke questioned this statement. "Then why is it that Wormon was brought back and he remembered everything."

"Me and Koushirou had a long talk about that. We think that the power of Ken's crest and the energy of his trait of Kindness was strong enough to bring back the same Wormon instead of creating a whole new one."

"Is that kind of what happened to Patamon?" Daisuke asked.

"Who told you that story?" Jou asked.

"Tai did once," he answered.

"Well," Jou said. "That was different. See, after Angemon destroyed Devimon, he used up all his energy and reverted back to his first stage, the Digiegg. He didn't really die. If he had died then he would have been reconfigured and reborn at Primary Village. He would have been a new Digimon unless Takeru found him and his trait was strong enough to bring Patamon back."

Daisuke nodded thoughtfully. Jou knew much about the ways the Digital World worked. He hope that the knowledge would be helpful in this world. As Daisuke felt himself grow closer to Jou with each story, he soon found himself comfortable enough to ask, "Jou, do you think, well," he touched his index fingers together in embarrassment, "do you think that Kari would ever go out with me?"

"Hmmm," Jou breathed. "If you had asked me a year ago I would have said-" Daisuke's eyes lit up with anticipation of the answer, "-No." Daisuke slumped. "Well, see, you use to be kind of obnoxious and overbearing before. You've really matured since then. I bet she'd definitely consider it."

Daisuke glared down at the ground. "Not with that TK around."

Jou sighed. "Takeru and Hikari have a very strong bond that even has ties to ancient prophecy and legend. The two of them have destiny behind them, but I find it doubtful that anything will bloom between them."

Daisuke's eyes lit back up. "Really?"

"Not until they're older."

Daisuke slumped again.

"When they grow up a little I think that they will really understand the bond that they share. Even if they don't see it now, it definitely exists. You better act quick."

Daisuke thought for a few minutes before saying, "What if they already grew up." He suddenly looked angry. "I bet they're together _right_ now. This crazy framing/knight/kings and queens Digital World has a way of maturing kids. I bet they're sleeping together right now!"

Jou laughed and patted him on the back telling him he was crazy and that the chances were pretty slim. Daisuke didn't think so. Upon the arrival at the small village, a group of children immediately swarmed around the four strangers. They poked at the Digimon and asked if they could talk or do tricks. Gomamon and V-mon were both startled by all the hands and quickly hid behind Jou and Daisuke. The children continued to swarm as they talked loudly and giggled.

A young woman came out of a small hut, picking up her dress as she ran over to the haze of little people. She collected the children, shooing them away from the strangers as if swatting away flies. The mob soon filtered down to one girl that stood behind the young woman. She finally looked at Daisuke and Jou with an embarrassed smile.

"I'm very sorry," she said. She must have been under 20, but a little older than Jou. She smiled softly and said with a gentle voice, "We don't get many visitors. Even fewer Digimon. The children got carried away."

"It's alright," Jou said. "We are traveling and came upon this village. We were wondering if there would be a place we could lodge for a night or two."

"Well," she sighed. "There are no inns to speak of, but perhaps I could help you find someplace to stay. You look harmless enough, perhaps you wouldn't mind staying with my brother and I. We haven't much room, but it will be warm and somewhat quiet."

"You are very kind, miss…" Jou trailed.

"Kei," she said. "Most cal me Kei."

"It's a lovely name," Jou complimented. They looked at each other for a moment with identical smiles and Daisuke and the Digimon were beginning to get a bit uncomfortable.

"My name is Jou," he said. "This is my companion Daisuke, his Digimon, V-mon, and that's Gomamon."

"It's very nice to meet you all," she said.

"Pleasure," Daisuke said.

Kei lead them into the small home that she came out of. It was a modest flat, no more than two rooms and a tiny stove in the corner. "My brother can I can give you our beds," she said.

"No, no," Daisuke said. "We can sleep on the floor it would be impolite for us to take your beds."

"It's quite alright," she assured.

"We're use to sleeping on rocks," Jou said. "The floor will be fine for us," he said with a grin.

She nodded and they sat around a small table near the stove. "So where are you two young men going off to alone?"

"No where in particular," Jou answered. "We're searching for our friends."

"Alone?"

"Yes," he answered. "We only have each other."

She nodded and sighed. "I know how it feels. My brother and I live alone here together. Our parents died of disease when I was twelve. I've taken care of my younger brother since then. He's twelve now. I am 17."

They nodded thoughtfully.

"How did you become separated from your friends?"

"Very strange and mysterious circumstances," Jou said. The conversation was taking a one on one trend and Daisuke and the Digimon were finding themselves like the third, fourth, and fifth wheels of a bicycle. V-mon could sense Daisuke's feelings and so he tugged on his partner's sleeve.

"Daisuke," he said. "You said you would take me to find some jenny berries." The lie was incredibly stupid and not well thought.

"What?" Daisuke asked. "What are you talking about?" He thought for a moment before he looked up and saw Jou and Kei still in deep conversation. He sighed and said, "Oh, I see." He stood up and said, "If the two of you don't mind, I think I might go off and explore a bit."

Jou nodded and Kei said, "Be back by nightfall," she smiled. "I'll cook a special meal for the two of you. You must both be hungry."

Daisuke nodded and bowed to her once before leaving with V-mon and Gomamon. Jou hardly noticed that they left. They conversed for what seemed to be several hours and eventually the two of them ended up sitting crossed legged on the floor very close together.

"How is it that you support yourself and your brother?" Jou asked.

"I teach at a small school not far from here," she answered.

"You're a teacher?"

"Yes," she nodded. "It's a thankless job," she sighed.

"I was a doctor before I found Daisuke and began a nomadic lifestyle."

"A doctor? You are so young," she gasped.

Jou laughed. "I suppose. You are young to be a teacher."

Kei gazed out the window for a moment. It was getting close to late afternoon. "Brother should be home soon."

"What's his name?" Jou asked.

"Davien. He said he was going hunting with some of his friends. Typical young men, always out killing things."

Jou laughed. "I never liked killing things. My father pushed me to become a doctor. He taught me so well that in this world I am more than qualified to be one." He mentally kicked himself.

"This world?"

Jou's hand nervously found the back of his head. He stuttered for a moment, then thought about telling her the truth. Perhaps some things were better left unsaid, so he finally sputtered, "This world, as in, this country. I came far from here."

"Oh really? Where?"

"Uhhh," Jou mumbled. "Up north."

Kei giggled. "Where up north?"

As if on cue, the sound of scratching at the doors threw the conversation off. Jou stood along with Kei, who ran over to the door that was now being banged on with great urgency. She swung the latches open and opened the door. Gomamon sat on the ground looking up at the two of them.

"Daisuke!" he stammered.

**

They found Daisuke near the edges of the forest crouched down behind a large bush with his head peaking over the top. Shouting and crashing could be heard from beyond in a large meadow not far from where he stood. The sounds of XV-mon battling with another Digimon were quite obvious as Jou, Kei, and Gomamon came running up behind Daisuke.

He looked up at them with relaxed eyes before standing up and shaking Jou by the colar. "That Dark Tyrannomon came out of nowhere and just attacked us!" he exclaimed. "I sent Gomamon to get you so he could fight to."

Jou nodded then looked down at his Digimon. He gave him the go, and Gomamon jumped past the shrubs to the clearing and evolved to Ikkakumon. The walrus-like Digimon stood and said, "Why don't we even things up. Harpoon Torpedo!"

A projectile shot from the fore of his head and raced across the clear and struck the black dinosaur in the back of the head. He turned and glared at the new opposing force. Jou squinted over the bushes and strained to see the Dark Tyrannomon. As his attention was diverted, XV-mon opened his arms and shot a laser from his chest to the back of the Dark Tyrannomon. He took to the air and landed down next to Ikkakumon.

As the smoke from the attack cleared, Jou could see the enemy better. There was something different about the Dark Tyrannomon that stood in the clearing. Its eyes were glazed over and it seemed to have no mind of its own. And the most obvious difference, there was a headband around the top of its skull that went all the way around, to a red and yellow feather that stood straight up the back.

"It can't be," Jou whispered to himself.

"Fire Blast." The creature extended the jaws of his mouth to let a fireball shoot out and strike Ikkakumon in the chest knocking him down for a moment. His voice was deep and dark, but somewhere in the darkness Jou could sense familiarity. Something about it seemed as if part of his past.

"Dark Tyrannomon dark Digivolve to…Metal Tyrannomon," in a cloud of black smoke the creature grew twice in size and now shined with black metal that covered its cybernetic body. His metal claws of death extended and as he said, "Nuclear Laser," a powerful beam of light soared through the air and struck the earth at the feet of the two good Digimon. The ground shook as if an earthquake had hit and luckily the two Digimon had jumped out of the way.

"Ikkakumon Digivolve to…Zudomon!" With all the force he had, Zudomon threw his hammer through the air. It spun so quickly the hammer looked as if it were a flat disk of metal as it struck the Metal Tyrannomon on the arm. An explosion followed that tore the arm off its bolts and hinges leaving only debris and bits of metal to fall to the ground.

Jou looked down at Daisuke sharply, "You have to make your Digimon Digivolve to Ultimate."

"I don't know how," Daisuke said in an ashamed voice.

"Now's as good a time to learn. He has the power to do it."

As Jou looked back up, he saw the two Digimon struck with another laser and the two were overcome with its power and were lost in a sea of dirt and dust and fire. As it began to clear, XV-mon jumped in the air and used X-Laser once again, which did little than nothing to the Dark Digimon.

"Zudomon!" Jou shouted. "Don't kill it!"

The great sea beast nodded and ran forward, charging at the beast. He locked his arms with his opponents remaining arm and tried to break its strength.

"XV-mon, you have to try and Digivolve!" Daisuke yelled.

XV-mon nodded and held his fists tightly as he tried to summon his energy to evolve to his next level. He began to glow a bright blue, and just as it seemed that he had reached the point of no return, XV-mon fell from the air and struck the ground hard in a blue flash. He pushed himself up and shook his head.

"He needs Stingmon," Diasuke said quietly.

Zudomon was thrown from the other end of the meadow back to where XV-mon lay. His massive body plowed through the ground, tearing up the plants that lay beneath as a flood of soil and stone flew in the air. He got up slowly, and pointed his hammer out, not giving up.

Another Nuclear Laser struck Zudomon in the chest and through him backwards crashing into the forest uprooting dozens of trees and sent birds flying from their nests into the air. He lost consciousness before flashing in yellow light and becoming Gomamon once again.

In the blink of an eye the Metal Tyrannomon had XV-mon in his remaining hand, slowly crushing the blue phantom with its sharp metal claws. Blood began to trickle from his body as the black claws cut into his flesh.

"XV-mon!" Daisuke cried.

"I never liked you anyway," the Metal Tyrannomon cooed as he slowly tightened his grip on XV-mon. He would have crushed XV-mon to death had a blast of white and pure energy struck him in the back, breaking the metal shell of his body. He dropped XV-mon to the ground, how hit it flat with a loud thud.

"XV-mon get up!" Daisuke cried.

"What was that…?" Jou asked himself

A huge metal claw swiped downward, not from Metal Tyrannomon, but from Metal Greymon. The orange beast knocked the Metal Tyrannomon down, tearing its other limb from its shoulder in a crash of metal. A huge metal Angel floated in the air not far from and sent fourth seven orbs of energy towards the Metal Tyrannomon. Above, Jou could hear the flapping of huge wings, and as his gaze went upwards above the trees, a huge beast of white and pink fur rushed forward and fired a blast from its mouth. On the back of the white holy dragon, sat three familiar faces.

They had not noticed Jou or Daisuke or Kei until after Daisuke jumped over the bushes and ran out to XV-mon, disregarding any of the other Digimon. He pushed against the body of his Digimon desperately trying to get him up off the ground.

"Daisuke…" XV-mon struggled to say. His eyes opened wide as he saw the Metal Tyrannomon still standing in with several gashes in his robotic body. With one quick movement, he swung his tail around to hit XV-mon and Daisuke.

He closed his eyes waiting to meet his doom, but after several seconds, Daisuke found that nothing had happened. He tentatively opened his eyes and looked upwards. XV-mon did not stand hovering above him, but Paildramon, a much larger Digimon, stood there instead. He held the tail of Metal Tyrannomon with his huge claws, away from endangering Daisuke.

With the creature's tail still in claw, the lasers attached to Paildramon's waist swung forward and aimed for Metal Tyrannomon. It was strange to hear the voice of XV-mon alone shouted, "Desperado Blaster," without the sound of Stingmon.

The Metal Tyrannomon fell to the ground in a dead heap of metal, before a flash of darkness reverted him to a black and gray Hawkmon. Daisuke stood there in disbelief as he stared down at the bird that looked so much like the Hawkmon he once knew.

There was screaming from the trees, and as Daisuke looked upwards he finally noticed Metal Greymon, the huge angel that looked like a knight, the white dragon that looked like a dog, and the three Digidestined sitting on its back.

The screaming came from a girl standing in the trees. "You've failed me for the last time, Hawkmon!" She disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Daisuke recognized her voice as Miyako's, but hadn't been able to see her face because of the black cloak that covered her face and body.

Daisuke picked up Chibimon and slowly walked forward to the Hawkmon, joined with by Takeru holding Tokomon, Hikari holding Salamon, Jou with Gomamon, Taichi with Agumon, and Kei alone. None of them spoke as they stood above Hawkmon who was still alive but unconscious.

Jou beant down and lifted Hawkmon up by the shoulders. He shook him gently as it slowly regained consciousness. He glared at the children huddled around him and pushed Jou's arm away. "Do not touch me, peasant."

"Hawkmon," Hikari said gently.

"Don't you speak to me," he scowled. "I should have killed you and the skinny one when I had the chance."

Takeru charged forward, only to be held back by Daisuke.

Hikari bent down to meet Hawkmon at his eye level. "Hawkmon, do you remember me?"

"Shut up."

"It's me, Hawkmon. It's Kari, your friend."

"I have no friends, only my master."

"That master that just left you?" Takeru sneered.

"TK, don't," Hikari snapped. "Hawkmon, it's us. You're friends. Do you remember us before you became a Virus?"

He glared at her, and was just about to strike her down with his feather slash attack before Jou could push her out of the way. "You are outnumbered here, Hawkmon," he said with a cold indifference. "It wouldn't be a good idea to strike any of us."

"Then I will take my leave," he said, as he stood up. His legs gave way below him and he fell back to the ground. "Blast."

"You're hurt," Hikari said. "Jou will have to fix you up."

"Why would he do that?" Hawkmon snarled.

"Because," she said with a smile, "he's your friend."

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Like whoa, that chapter actually came out pretty good. I guess it was to make up for the crappy Tai, Kari, and TK chapter and the Ken and primary village one, since they both were really bad in my oppinion. Hope you agree ^^. Please review, even though FF.net seems to be slow these days.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
NOTICE: I rewrote chapters [11][1] and [12][2] so please check those out!  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter 14**

How strange this new land was. They stood on the edge of what may have been a close step to the end of their journey. As the sun slowly set across the horizon falling into night, Yamato and Koushirou looked down over the cliff to the small village world that sat nestled in a huge valley surrounded by volcanic walls, untouched by time. Each tiny building settled down far apart each other with thick trees and underbrush in between. Dozens of tiny streams cut through the isolated land, reaching from house to house, which suggested that they were manmade. A thick mist settled over the land, making it seem all the more serene and eerily calm.

At the center of the circular valley were larger buildings, still primitively built. They were hard to label, it as mix of far-eastern and ancient European architecture, with pale white walls and triangular roofs carefully detailed with carvings of warlike and holy creatures. There was something beautiful of this place, something that made the travelers feel somewhat at home.

Five tall pillars of a dark gray stone stood in the square of the city. They towered high above the trees and buildings within, easily the tallest structures in the whole village. They were placed in a circle, as the square was also a circle, with intricate angles in which the stones were placed on the ground. Inside the circle of pillars was a statue, to which the features were unknown what with the distance between it and the eyes of those on their quest.

"It seems so quiet here," Koushirou said. Tentomon landed behind his friend and tugged at his pant leg. "What is it, Tentomon?"

"I'm hungry."

Yamato laughed and gently kicked him along. "Let's see if we can find you something to eat. And while we're at it, some old friends."

"This village is quite isolated," Panjamon said. "They may not like visitors."

"Why do you say that?" Koushirou asked.

"Had it not been for the signal, I doubt if we would have ever found this place. It is isolated from the outside world by the walls. This entire village is built on the inside of an ancient volcano."

"A dormant one I hope!" Tentomon exclaimed.

"Most likely my little friend," Panjamon assured. "We must be careful of what we do here. The villagers might be frightened by us."

Yamato thought for a moment. "Panjamon, perhaps you should stay behind and wait for us."

"Yeah." Koushirou said. "A giant ice lion thing might scare some people."

"But what if there is trouble?" Panjamon said.

"Don't worry about us," Yamato assured. "Tentomon can keep a lookout. And if worst comes to worst, you can come in and save the day."

They found themselves having to trek through the forests dodging tree after tree, branch after branch, as the undergrowth was quite thick and difficult to surpass. At many points, Tentomon was needed to use small energy blasts to get through the thicket of the valley's trees. After several hours, darkness had set in deeply, as the moon shined brightly in the sky. It was then when they stumbled onto an ancient and worn pathway made of an off white colored stone.

They chose the direction in that most likely would lead them to the middle of the village, despite the fact that the structures were spread out across the entire valley. The valley was quite large, and even with the easy pathway, it took them another hour or so to slowly navigate the narrow path towards what might have been the town square.

It was a quite large monument, with a few sparse buildings not far beyond that could be seen above the trees. They had nothing but the light of the moon to guide them through the wide and open site. Only the sounds of the steps they mad and the buzzing of Tentomon's wings echoed in the night air as they made their way to the standing stones. Although the light was dim they could now make out the statue that stood on the interior.

It was a Digimon, in the form of a man. A great beast with strikingly human features stood with his huge and thick hand reaching out to the sky. He evoked the image of a beast and a Viking, with a wide set frame and a huge fur coat that hung around his neck and reached down his back. Two massive mace balls sat atop thick and wide tubes that came from his back, which was reminiscent of Ankylomon's tail hammer. A thick leather belt tied around his waist with a long cloth hanging down between his thick and muscular legs supported by wide feet. The craftsmanship of the sculpture was astounding.

"You boys are out late," a voice echoed from behind.

The three swung around to search for the voice that summoned them. There was a man behind them, much older then they but still within his 30's. A few moments of silence followed as the four sized each other up.

"You aren't around here," he finally said. "There hasn't been a Digimon here in a while."

"We are travelers," Yamato said confidently. He stood straight, trying to be at the level of the man. "We were hoping to find some friends of ours."

"Hasn't been anyone through here in a long time." He had a very overpowering voice, which was not the least bit frightened of the strangers. The echo of his voice had little respect for them. "No one 'cept that fella behind you," he said, as he pointed upwards to the statue of the Digimon.

The man for no particular reason, other than the way that he carried himself was annoying Yamato. "We don't mean to intrude on anything, we're just looking for a friend."

Koushirou could see the tension growing between the two. It amused him how easy a rivalry could be created with such few words. He decided to speak up before things got any worse. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Digivice and showed it to the man. "Have you seen anyone with something like this?"

"Nope," he said arrogantly. "Why don't you boys run along to where every you came from. Whoever you're looking for isn't here. I told you, we don't get visitors here."

"Listen," Yamato said, considerable irked. "We have good reason to believe that a friend or friends of ours are somewhere in this valley and if you don't want to help us then I'd thank you to just leave us alone."

He let a breath of superiority and shook it off, before rolling his eyes, turning around, and walking away.

"Jerk," Yamato said under his breath, glaring at the man as he left.

"Someone else is coming," Tentomon buzzed.

"I'm sorry about Javen," a voice said. A woman stepped from behind.

"A bit late to be out, isn't it miss?" Tentomon asked.

"I came to admire the sculpture," she mused. "So you boys aren't from around here, I gather."

"No miss," Yamato said. "But we've already been welcomed," he said grudgingly.

She laughed faintly. "Sorry about him. He's a jerk, no two ways about it."

'Could you help us, miss?" Koushirou asked, hoping that she would be more forthcoming with information.

"You're looking for a friend?" she queried.

"Yes," Yamato said. "Perhaps more than one. They would have a Digivice like ours, or a D-3 that kind of looks like a Digivice." He showed her Koushirou's device. "And they would most likely have a Digimon with them."

"There was a boy," she said sullenly. "He came here about a year ago, with a Digimon. He had a device with him, I'm not sure if it is the D-3 you speak of, though."

There was hope.

"He," she continued, "was very young, but very brave as well. I knew him myself."

"What became of him?" Koushirou asked, sensing bad news ahead.

"He protected us from dark forces from beyond the valley. His Digimon fought the creature and destroyed those that would destroy us, but it lost its life in the process…"

Koushirou was assessing the possiblilites in his mind. Daisuke, Takeru, Hikari, Iori, Ken, and Miyako were the only ones with D-3s. Daisuke, Takeru and Hikari had already been found. Ken and Iori were the last boys. That meant either Wormon or Armadillomon were gone. The thought saddened him.

"…Many of the villagers," she continued, "believed that it was because the boy and his Digimon came that attracted the evil Digimon. Those who disagreed did with loud voices. His presence tore the village apart, and so he left, but not far. People say that he still lives within the valley, somewhere close to the edges, alone in a tiny cottage."

"What was his name?" Yamato asked flatly.

"Iori," she said.

**

Knock, knock, knock. Three knocks on the heavy wooden door by use of a metal doorknocker. Three more knocks followed which resonated in the quite little huddle of a home. The morning's sun was rising over the walls of the valley, which had lit the way for Yamato and his partners to find the tiny little cottage in the east of the valley. Some vegetables grew in the ground on the sides of the modest home. It didn't seem like enough to keep someone alive.

Yamato knocked again before falling into another silence. They stood there for several minutes, as the dew from the morning began to cling to their clothes as the thick mist of the morning settled in the air, slowly disappearing with the rising sun.

He knocked again.

"Whoever is out there, go away," a sullen voice said from within. How could a child of only ten survive alone?

"Iori," Yamato said, as he leaned his head against the wooden door. Nothing could have prepared him for this. He never truly realized that someone close to him or close to them could have lost their lives. He though of Gabumon.

By some sick surprise, he said, "Go away Yamato. You're too late."

Yamato shut his eyes tightly and thought about the statue of that Mega Digimon that had saved an entire village at the price of his own life. It was the Armadillomon that had saved his friends and many others in his short lifetime. Yamato slammed his fist against the door in a plea for attention and justice. "Iori, open this door!"

Koushirou and Tentomon stood in silence as they watched what unfolded before them. A latch was unlatched on the inside, then a second, then a third. They could hear another bar be lifted from the center of the door, and then another latch at the foot of it. Slowly, the door slowly creaked open and Yamato lifted his head from it.

Iori had grown, standing only a head below Yamato at the age of ten. His hair had over grown and came down to his eyes. He didn't have the cold and rational look in his eyes anymore. He was eyes were filled with despair and hopelessness as if his face and body had been scared with a thousand blades. He looked up to Yamato, then to Koushirou and Tentomon, with eyes of death.

"You're too late," he repeated. "You're all too late!" He slammed the door hard in Yamato's face and latched each lock over again.

Yamato stood in silence, nothing thinking of what Iori had done, not thinking of the sacrifice of the gentle and kind Armadillomon. He turned to Koushirou and met him with the same dead eyes as Iori. He stared at his companion for several minutes as the sounds of morning birds filled the empty air.

He fell backwards to the ground in tears and landed his back against the doors, burying his face between his knees crying out for nothingness. The tears seem to come with no force of his own; flowing as if a dam had broken after keeping rough waters behind for far too long. He cried for the loss of his Digimon friend, the hope of his human friend, the bonds of the team, and most of all, the tie with his best friend and partner.

He looked up. Tentomon and Koushirou stared at him with sad eyes.

"We were too late," Yamato said quietly.

Koushirou wanted to cry because Yamato was, but kept his composure so as not to make a bad situation worse. He stepped forward and came down to the ground. "It's still not too late. We'll find a way."

There wasn't much that the three could do to coax their fallen friend outwards from his home. Yamato sat with his back to the door as he mindlessly poked at the dirt with a stick while Koushirou walked around in the forest only a few feet from the cottage, kicking up stones and dirt.

"Why won't you leave me alone," a voice said from inside.

"Because we're your friends, Iori," Yamato flatly said.

"I don't want you guys here, you don't have to stay on account of me."

"Don't be stupid."

Koushirou popped his head from around the corner as he heard talking after hours of silence. Tentomon was hovering behind him.

"I'm no good to you anymore, I can't fight."

"We don't want you to fight, we just want to be together again."

"The 12 of us only bring trouble wherever we go. Tell me that you haven't caused pain and suffering because you are a hunted Digidestined, and I will call you a liar. We scar this world with every step we take, and innocent people will suffer because of it. Like Armadillomon."

Yamato snapped the stick in his hands. "We are destined to save this world."

"You don't know what you are saying. We are killing these people."

"No, Iori. We're a team, and we will protect this world as one."

"I'm no use to any of you."

"There is no I in team."

"That's why _I_ am not a part of it."

Yamato stood up and stared at the door where the words were being spoken. He leaned his head against it, breathing softly trying to gather his words. "Iori," he said softly, "there have been some unfortunate times, but we must all be strong and find a way to get back together. We are strongest as one, and we will find a way to complete our mission on this world. Then we can go home."

There was silence in the air. Yamato was close to tears once again, as this world had torn him apart into a hundred shattered pieces of pain. The latches unhooked. He had no idea what would open that door and had no way to prepare for the strike of a branch that struck across his face with a hard blow, which sent him crashing to the ground. As he fell to the dirt he could hear Tentomon and Koushirou gasp as they ran to his side.

The blur from his eyes cleared as he looked up to Iori, holding the branch of a tree that he must have kept by the door for intruders. He had a look of anger, hate, and satisfaction in his eyes. But that moment of rage passed quickly as the branch slipped from his hands and fell to the floor of his home. His eyes return to their sullen state, as he stared at the blood that ran down the side of Yamato's face.

He held his head down in shame. "I don't want this destiny," he said. "I don't want to save the world." His eyes thinned as he held his fist up and yelled, "All I want is justice!"

It was a feeling that Yamato hadn't felt in years. The feeling of pure energy surging through the air around as an aura of energy would surround a person, strength drawn from the power within. He looked up to Iori from the ground, as his heart glowed in a bright yellow. The entire valley permeated with the energy of the power of Iori's spirit and heart. It was time.

Before them appeared a tiny little plate, each side shined with the glare of glass that covered a tiny symbol. It was a crest. Iori pulled it from the air and stared at it with disdain.

"This is what allowed Armadillomon to evolve to Vikmon," he said flatly. "It did him no good."

"But he saved the village, didn't he?" Yamato asked in a whisper.

"Yes."

"Is that not justice?"

Iori stared down at Yamato for a moment, holding the glowing crest in his hand. The yellow light that surrounded it shot into the air straight upwards for about five feet before making a 90 degree turn and flashed through the forest, making its way over the volcanic walls. They stood without words, as Yamato finally pushed himself off the ground and wiping the blood from his cheek, nursing the wound at the edge of his temples.

"I wonder what that was?" Tentomon finally said.

Iori grasped the crest in a fist, and said, "We'll see."

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
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Authors Notes: That was kind of short, but I think that I got the point across. We're getting close to the end..or are we? ^^ please r/r.

   [1]: http://fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=170075&chapter=11
   [2]: http://fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&StoryID=170075&Chapter=12



	15. Chapter Fifteen

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter Fifteen**

"Goodbye Ken," Mimi said quietly as she hugged the younger boy tightly. She looked him in the eyes and smiled. "You be sure to come back to us soon."

He nodded. "I'll do my best. You and Sora take care of the others. Goodbye my friends." He bowed respectively as Mimi picked up Palmon and tossed her up to Sora who already sat at the base of Birdramon's neck. Climbing up, Mimi took a seat behind Sora as both of them waved while Birdramon took to the air.

"I hope he'll be okay," Sora said. "Must get lonely."

"I don't think so," Mimi said. "What with all the cute baby Digimon around."

Their week had been spent playing with the small Digimon, along with remembering old times and learning Ken's ways. They had never heard the story of Ken's life told by the one who had actually lived it, and in hearing the entire chain of events, Mimi and Sora learned about parts of Ken that perhaps no other knew. He spoke of the pain and sorrow and guilt he felt after his brother was killed, and how that event changed the course of his life and made him vulnerable to manipulation of dark forces, creating the Digimon Emperor.

Sora spoke of her relationship with her mother, and how throughout her childhood she felt that she was never loved and never cared for. Being a Chosen Child not only allowed her to save the worlds and make new friends, it let her realize that she was always loved, but came from a family that couldn't express it the way she always wanted. She grew closer to her family through her loyal Biyomon, and she was thankful.

They arrived at the beach to find Yamato and the others already waiting, a convenience if nothing else, because that meant that they would neither have to go search for them or wait. And even though Sora or Mimi were not terribly close to Iori, they both smiled and hugged him tightly praising him for returning to them.

When Mimi asked where Armadillomon was, Iori looked away with a scowl. When she asked what was wrong, a Koushirou's hand found its way to her shoulder. She looked to the sullen face that shook his head. She nodded and looked down to the ground, and they all stood in silence, remembering the laughing and smiling yellow Digimon that they all grew to love on one level or another.

They stood there staring at the land and the trees with nothing but the crashing waves to fill the silence of the afternoon. It hadn't mattered how long they remained in silence; none of them cared. After several minutes, Yamato finally spoke to Sora.

"Didn't you, didn't you find Miyako or Ken?" he asked, terrified of her answer. They had already lost a friend. It was not a good day to lose another.

She gave a faint smile. "We found Ken," she said gently. "He is the Caretaker of Primary Village. He, he couldn't come back with us."

The others nodded, as Iori looked to the sea. "How ironic. The one who was a monster takes care of baby Digimon now." The harsh feelings towards Ken Ichijouji seemed to boil within Iori even now, almost a year since he had seen him. The memories of the evil Digimon Emperor and his reign of terror over the old Digital World were still deeply carved in Iori's mind.

"We could go visit him," Koushirou said tentatively leaning at the edge of a subject he was too scared to bring up.

Iori thought of his Armadillomon, _Maybe…_

In the distance a figure of a beast soared across the ocean with long merciless wings of terror. A figure stood above it, cackling. The beast came forward at an amazing speed, and went unnoticed by the others until it was almost on top of them. Mimi started to scream as she looked up to the horrifying Airdramon where a cloaked woman stood, looking like Ken once did when he soared across the Digital World.

She spoke in a loud shriek. "You will not escape us this time!" she said as she tore the cloth hood from her face, staring down to them. Her dark purple hair blew dramatically in the wind caused by the flapping of Airdramon's wings. Large reflective glasses covered her eyes, but not the smile of evil.

"Miya- Miyako…" Yamato sputtered.

"What are you doing up there?" Koushirou shouted. He began waving hysterically, smiling that their friend hand returned. He ran up closer to the beast until he was almost under it still waving.

But something didn't seem right to Yamato. He ran forward and pushed Koushirou down onto the sand before the Airdramon could use Spinning Needle, hitting the beach with a huge spike of stone and bone. Koushirou looked up confused and terrified.

"Tentomon Digivolve to…Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon Digivolve to…Togemon!"

"Meteor Wi-"

"Birdramon stop it!" Sora shouted as her Digimon was about to use her attack. "That's Miyako!"

The girl who looked and sounded and perhaps even was Miyako laughed at Sora's foolishness. With a wave of her hand, the sky around them was soon filled with Airdramon, Devidramon. The ocean burst in crashing waves as a monster arose from the depths of the water. The creature had the tentacles of a squid and the head of one as well. But its face, it had the face of Devimon, the creature that tried to kill them once long ago.

Before the others could react, their Digimon fell to the beach as their rookie forms, hurt from the attacks from the surrounding evil Digimon. Their respective partners fell with them, scooping them into their arms and tending to their wounds. Yamato and Iori were glaring at Miyako as she stood and stared with dead eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" Iori yelled.

"Something I should have done long ago," she said. "Marine Devimon! Now!"

The slim moments beyond that command were blurred and fast, and none of the young travelers really knew what exactly happened. The beast called Marine Devimon had done something that caused a wave of pain to overcome them all, and rendered them unconscious and unaware to what hit them and what happened beyond that.

**

The last trickle of the day had fallen leaving the earth damp and cold and silent. A harsh and soaked spring had left the land humid and near freezing what with the position of the forest, higher north than most people enjoyed to go. It was well known that crops do not grow in the cold, and without the crops to power feudal societies, few dared to travel where money and power could not be had.

It was for this reason that the castle had been constructed there. Isolated from the rest of the planet high above the ground and close the skies on a mountain that rose above the rest of the landscape, far too difficult to even dare to climb. Made from the last remnants of the Old World, the structure stood in the midst of ruins hundreds and perhaps even thousands of years old.

And every now and then, a forsaken Digimon or human may have stumbled upon the building, and they would both face the same fate. No one would remember them, and no one would miss them. They would just be forgotten forever in the darkness and the mist of the wilderness high above the ground high up in the north. They were as good as gone.

Forged from metals unknown, pillars and beams stuck from the ground as the only pieces of the ancient buildings that survived the rain and snow and sleet and beating sun of the years. Rust and corrosion had even taken their toll on the tributes to a world that time forgot; a time when magical metals and technology could be created. When one could rise from the depths of society and be an emperor or empress.

She was alone in the empty and terrifying castle, and perhaps she liked it that way. Surrounded by darkness and hate and unrest. This was her home, her sanctuary, the only place where she could be herself. Or at least, what she saw herself as. Because what she had become was not what she once was.

He broke through the unconscious haze that had consumed him for perhaps several hours or even several days. There was only a mist of white before his eyes that he could not see pass, and after several minutes of trying to regain some memory of the past events, Iori rubbed his eyes hard with his fists.

"Hello?" he finally said. His voice echoed through the room that he was in, and as his eyes cleared he found himself surrounded by darkness. The air was stale and damp, filled with the scent of mold and decay. Only a small window at the top of the cell dimly lit the surrounding walls that looked to be mad of thick, large stones.

He looked around the room cautiously. The room seemed to enlarge as his vision expanded to the far ends of the room, and he soon found his friends laying on the ground, all unconscious. As the strength returned to his body, Iori managed to get up to his feet and slowly walked the length of the cell to the others, bending down to Sora who was closest. He gently shook her arm until she was awakened.

Iori helped her to sit up while she looked up to him with glazed eyes. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," he said.

"Where are the Digimon?" she asked as she looked around the room, seeing only her human friends.

"It was only us when I woke up."

Sora looked around, there was a door that Iori hadn't seen. They would have to find out if they could get out after the others were up. It was another ten or twenty minutes until Koushirou, Yamato and Mimi were brought back from their stupor. Uneasy and still a bit confused and sleepy, they all stood around the door while Yamato tried his best to force it open.

The others were almost shouting commands to him, telling him the best way to pull the large wooden door open, although none seemed to work. It was not until after he let go before it creaked open with a movie-like loud crack.

Yamato seemed to always be the bravest, and was first to venture out of the cell, followed by Koushirou. After they deemed the outside clear and safe, Mimi, Sora, and Iori followed behind.

They were inside a vast gothic castle, most likely in the depths of the underground where only the rats and the dead were stored. Together in a huddled group, they slowly navigated the stone hallways lit by torches mounted on the wall ever ten or so feet. Walking for what seemed like hours, they passed by paintings of Digimon they had never seen in their lives. Each was more terrifying then the last, as the walls began to be better lit.

The hallways seemed to go up at a slant, and became less and less damp. The air became clearer, as the smell of stagnating water and death began to pass. Each step was taken in silence, as Iori stared down to his blank D-3. A half an hour passed before the group of five found themselves in a grand hall.

It was probably the size of a football field, totally surrounded by towering walls. Seven massive chandeliers dangled from the arched ceiling that was totally covered by paintings of depictions of Digimon and scenes of war and torture. Dozens of pillars supported the high ceiling, each encrusted with jewels and paintings and carvings in the wood. Had the entire setting not been so mysterious and terrifying, one could say that the room was terribly beautiful, and apparently had taken years and years of careful handcrafter work.

But none of them had really noticed the walls or the décor, or the eerie quiet that consumed it. No. They had only seen the cloaked girl at the far end of the hall. She stood in between two huge doors. She stood silently and without motion.

"Miyako," Yamato said.

Iori watched as he stood at the head of the group with a strong sense of dignity as he stared down the hall with nothing but courage and bravery in his eyes. There was an evil and horrifying energy in that room and it pounded against Iori's head. He gasped for air as he looked down the hall with wide and frightened eyes.

"Hello Yamato," she said coldly. Although she was at the far end of the hall, she could clearly be heard by probably use of magic and sorcery. Her voice was all around, echoing against the walls and ceiling and surrounding them.

"What is going on, Miyako, and where are the Digimon?" Yamato asked sternly.

"They are," she said. Her voice was cold and flat with no emotion, no life. "Around."

"Miyako, why have you brought us here, where is Hawkmon? It's us, Miyako, your friends."

"I have been sent to capture you, and make you pay," she said.

"By who?" Yamato demanded.

"Someone forgotten because of the arrogance and selfishness of those around him."

Yamato snapped and ran forward as fast as he could as the sound of his footsteps crashing to the floor echoed through the room. The others did nothing but watch because there was little they could do to stop him, while they were all still in a haze of a shock. As Yamato got closer and closer to Miyako, the scowl on her face thickened as a cloud of darkness surrounded her. A cloud of flying and shrieking creatures surrounded her, protecting Miyako from anything that Yamato could have done to her.

He stood ten feet from her, watching the bats circle her and creating a shield of darkness and terror. She smirked and waved her hand forward, and the bats congregated in front of her, before creating the dark form of a man with a heavy black jacket. His eyes were nothing but black dotted with red pupils. A huge black hat covered his head and black hair that reached downwards as far as his belt, where a sword was hooked. He was a figure of pure darkness with nothing but his pale white skin to contrast.

"Dhampyrumon," Miyako said. "Kill him."

The blade was extended and was close enough for Yamato to see the carvings of skulls and bats all along the length of the bright shining metal. He was frozen with terror and stood with wide eyes unable to move a muscle. The blade would have struck him down the center of his body, had he not been pushed out of the way.

He and Mimi were on the floor together, the blade not more than a foot away was lodged deep into the ground. She asked him if he was all right, before looking back to Miyako.

"What has happened to you?" she snapped. "You are not the Miyako I was friends with. She was kind and pure of heart."

"She's dead."

Yamato could hear footsteps from behind as the others ran up to he and Mimi. "Go back!" he pleaded. They would all die because of his foolish and irrational choices. He had brought them together, he had been the one that made their signals stronger. He was the one that had brought chaos to the world. Perhaps Iori was right.

"Ice Fist!"

Dhampyrumon turned like lightning and struck the ice blast from Panjamon. His sword cut through it as if it had been water while shards of ice fell to the ground and disappeared into mist. With the other rookie Digimon behind him, Panjamon stood with his sword in hand.

"I have sworn to protect the children," he said. "I will not let the likes of a vampire taint their pure blood."

He jumped into the air with his sword in hand as Tentomon, Biyomon, and Palmon Warp Digivolved to their ultimate levels. Soon the room was filled with large Digimon; Dhampyrumon could not win.

"Ice Sword!" Panjamon yelled as he brought his sword downward against Dhampyrumon's and they clashed with sparks of fury and energy.

"Flower Canon!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Horn Buster!"

The others pulled Mimi to the sides of the room, but before they could grab Yamato he had already taken Miyako out the doors into the hallway as the five ultimate Digimon battled the single Mega vampire. Their attacks shook the entire castle, and in the corridor, Yamato could hear the sounds of the chandeliers crashing into the ground.

He shook violently shook Miyako by the shoulders yelling her name, hoping that he could bring the real Miyako out from behind the cold claws of darkness that had consumed her. He pleaded with her to wake up and to come back to him as his eyes filled with tears. The only thing that took Miyako's face was a cold and hateful smirk.

"You are nothing," she said.

"Miyako," he said quietly.

She was lifeless in his arms, not from being hurt, but from being consumed with darkness. He was holding her on the floor in his arms, trying to get through her. She didn't fight Yamato, she lay peacefully with him. But those eyes of hate never left her for a moment. She still smirked.

Her head waved back and forth in the air like a rag doll as Yamato continued to shake her. Her glasses soon fell to the ground but neither cared. "Miyako please, it's me, Yamato."

"Don't talk to me as if I didn't know who or what you are."

"Come back to us."

"I was never with you to begin with."

The castle continued to shake as Yamato heard a loud thundering crash from beyond the wall that separated himself from the clash of the Digimon. He assumed that they had broken through the outer walls and had taken their battle to the darkness of the night. The echoes of attacks continued to fill the inside.

Koushirou, Mimi and Sora appeared in the doorway finding Miyako and Yamato on the ground. Mimi gently pushed Yamato to the side and took Miyako by the hands looking deep into her vacant eyes.

"Hey there," she said gently.

Her eyes thinned as she stared at Mimi for a moment, as if to try and place a face she hadn't seen in years. It looked as if they had finally reached her, when Miyako struck Mimi in the face with the back of her right hand. The others all gasped, as Mimi looked back to Miyako, not bothering to rub her now-sore cheek.

They sat in silence. Mimi picked up Miyako's glasses and handed them to her. "You'll need these if you want to go to the mall and cruise for guys." She tried to smile and give a faint laugh.

Miyako looked away, when not twenty feet down the hall, the walls and ceiling caved in as Garudamon was thrown downwards onto the castle. Giant red feathers were left as she pushed herself upwards and returned to battle.

"They'll destroy this castle," Mimi said. "You can call off your Digimon and we can leave."

"I can not," Miyako said.

"Why?"

"This is my place."

"Miyako." Tears filled Mimi's eyes as she openly cried before Miyako. Yamato, Iori, Sora, and Koushirou stood around the two as they both started to cry. None dared to bend down and interrupt the two, as the battle outside continued with fury. Sora stood closer to Yamato trying not to cry herself.

Miyako took her glasses from her face and pushed Mimi away. "I will end this, because it suits me." She stood and re-entered her chambers, leaving Mimi on the ground and the others standing around her. They followed Miyako into the ruins of her grand hall, which was now completely opened to the night sky. A huge and full moon sat in the calm of the night, a calm that was rocked by a giant beetle trying to swipe away the black bat of a man that struck him several times with his sword.

"Dhampyrumon!" she yelled. "You will cease."

Mimi ran up behind Miyako while the others kept a somewhat safe distance away. The Dhampyrumon stood in the air as if to stand on an invisible platform. His black coat and locks tussled in the wind as he ended his attack on Mega Kabuterimon.

"You assume to command me?" he said. His voice was deep and painfully evil.

Miyako gasped. She realized how she had been used for this and had no real power.

"I take orders from only my master," he said. "I will kill them, as ordered. Along with you."

He threw his arm back and plowed his sword through the air. There was no time to react because the blade came down like a rocket through the air. Mimi took Miyako's place and pushed her to the ground, preparing to take the full force of the sword. But, as noble as Mimi, Panjamon took to force of the blade and fell lifelessly to the ground.

Mimi ran forward to Panjamon's body, and tried to pull the sword from his chest crying uncontrollably. Its weight was too much for her, and she collapsed at his face and touched his cheek. His breaths were short now, and blood ran down his from his mouth.

She pleaded through her tears, "Why?"

"I…had…sworn…to protect," were the last words from his last breath. His body shattered into dust as his information floated into the sky and disappeared in the moonlight. The sword crashed to the ground while Mimi cried and hid her face in her arms.

Miyako stood and watched Mimi cry. She could hear Yamato behind her. She said, "Why would she do that? Why did he do it?"

"Mimi sought to protect you, and Panjamon her."

"Even after what I had done…"

"You know what they say; Once a Digidestined, always a Digidestined."

"No one says that." She looked up. Dhampyrumon was preparing for another attack. Bats came from his hair and surrounded him with their shrieks. He pointed forward saying something that was so soft it was inaudible. The bats swarmed downward headed for Miyako.

"Testament!"  
"Apocalypse!"

The powers of hope and light are forces of pure good and holiness. They are most powerful against the forces of evil and those of the undead. Those who have fallen from grace and purity are most susceptible to their fury and rage. As an instrument of evil and death, Dhampyrumon could not hold up against the force of the two concentrated holy attacks, and he was gone.

Yamato looked around and saw a tall young man with blue hair and spectacles help the young Mimi to her feet as her eyes sparkled with happiness and surprise. He turned around, to see a boy with big brown hair hug Sora tightly as she started to cry. The boy with the brown hair saw Yamato and gently let go of Sora and stepped forward.

"Hi Matt," he said. Those were their only words. He hugged Yamato tightly, two best friends reunited.

Koushirou and Iori met with Daisuke, Hikari, and Takeru. There was warmth in their greetings and there was excitement in their eyes. They were almost whole. The family was regaining its solid ground. Hikari held Takeru's hand tightly as she looked away from the group to Miyako, who stood like a ghost in the darkness. A black bird stood before her, staring up with the same dead eyes that she had. Two ghosts in the darkness.

"Could Holy Angemon not rid him of the virus?" Koushirou asked quietly.

Takeru shook his head. "His Holy Disinfection didn't work. We don't know why."

Koushirou nodded sullenly. He looked at Daisuke's legs, but didn't ask why they could support him. Now was a time of happiness, when silence could be golden. Yamato and Taichi came up behind Koushirou and Iori along with Sora. Takeru nodded with a smile to his brother, as Mimi and Jou met them with hugs and laughter.

Koushirou took Mimi by the hand and put his finger to his lips. He motioned to Miyako and Hawkmon, who continued to stare at each other. She nodded and watched along with the others.

"I had not anticipated your survival," she said coldly.

"Nor I yours. I had assumed they would have killed you by now."

She nodded. There was a moment of silence between them, before she said, "Why have you not killed them?"

"I still have my honor. They cared for me after I was abandoned by your selfishness."

"You allowed yourself to be nurtured like an infant?" she asked, not believing.

"It was most likely that they would find you. I wanted to be there when they did that."

"Are you going to kill me, Hawkmon?"

"I have been debating that since you left me," he said. "But it would be the cowards way out. I would not wish to be a coward like you. I'd sooner strike myself down."

"Strike me down now, Hawkmon! End this now!"

"You are a coward!" He pointed his feathers at him and scowled with hate in his eyes. "You wish me to end your pain! You want me to be the agent of your own self-destruction! You hate yourself so much, then strike yourself down!"

She struck him with the back of her hand. "You were useless to me! Why should I keep such a useless Digimon? You failed me time and time again!"

"Perhaps it was the your own failure!" In a burst of a dark cloud, Hawkmon evolved with evil and became Metal Tyrannomon, pointing his arm forward preparing his Nuclear Laser. He would kill her with the entire deep seething rage that had boiled within him for as long as he could remember.

She did not stand down. With a look of confident anger on her face, she stared at her once loyal Digimon. For several minutes they were at stalemate, and no one dared to make a move. She held her head down.

"I was wrong."

Metal Tyrannomon stood with his arm still pointed towards the tiny and frail human, as tears fell from her eyes.

"I allowed the two of us to be seduced by the dark powers. It was my fault." She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to her cyborg Digimon. "I'm sorry."

As her words were spoken, the dawn began to break as the sun rose up from beyond the mountains. And although the air was freezing and her castle lay in ruins, Miyako managed to smile a smile of good and not evil. She put the glasses back on her face that she had been holding the whole time, as her heart began to glow within her. In a flash of light that seemed to bring morning with it also brought forth a small item before Miyako's face. She took it in her hand and looked at it closely. It was a crest, much like Ken's. Its symbol; a large circle attached to a winding organ like piece, along with three smaller circles. The large one, realizing that the help of others is always needed, and could admit when it was wrong.

The crest glowed in her hand, and the cloak that covered her disappeared and she was left with common clothing. The light from the crest shined brighter, until it consumed both her and Metal Tyrannomon. It shined so brightly, all the others had to look away. When it seemed as if the shine was gone, the sun had risen above the mountains, and a white Digimon stood before them.

Where Metal Tyrannomon once stood, a white Digimon that evoked a holy warrior spirit now stood, with his sword pointed where a black metal arm once was. A golden eagle stood on his shoulder next to the helmet decorated with large feathers covered his eyes like the head of a regal bird. It wore a cape made from giant feathers of a giant hawk tipped with red at its ends.

He returned his sword to the side of his waist, as he raised his left arm up that was covered by a golden shield that was tipped like the head of another bird of prey. He lifted it until it totally covered his upper body. It glowed in a bright flash of light, and when it passed, a brown and white bird stood on the floor looking up at Miyako.

She collapsed to the ground and hugged him tightly yelling, "Hawkmon!"

His bones cracked under her force. He spoke in his gentle and yet deep and heroic voice very softly. "Miyako."

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
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Authors Notes: Hey guess what I'm still alive! Yeah I know I haven't been writing much lately, but yeah, here I am! It might be because I haven't been getting too many reviews....at all, lol. Probably because its getting too long. But yeah, this was a long chapter compared to the other stuff I had, I originally wanted to spread out the events that happened into three seperate chapters, but I managed to sum it up in one. Please r/r! Well, if you're this far you have probably read it already so please review!


	16. Chapter Sixteen

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter Sixteen**

Mimi tied together two small branches with a piece of cloth she tore from her own clothes to make a small cross. She held it tightly to her chest as she silently cried as the sunlight of the late morning shined upon the ruins of what was once a great castle. She pulled together a collection of soil into a small pile large enough to support the cross on the land.

She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes and said a silent prayer for Panjamon. "You swore to protect me, and you did my hero, Panjamon. May you be reconfigured to one as noble as your former self."

He had sacrificed himself to protect the one with the purest of hearts, just like the Leomon before him. He would be remembered with the same love and affection and tears as a part of the family. He had been a chosen Digimon.

**

"So I guess things haven't changed very much," Miyako said as she took Yamato's hand. He had been quiet the entire flight down towards the south of the world. Koushirou, Yamato, Miyako and Hawkmon had taken their places on the back of Mega Kabuterimon while he flew them across the land and through the air. Upon Holy Dramon's back sat Daisuke, Takeru, Iori, and Hikari along with their respective Digimon. Jou, Mimi, Sora, and Taichi were all in Garudamon's palm as she flew them along with the other two Digimon.

He had been staring at what sat in Garudamon's palms the entire time, focused on specifically on Taichi and Sora. He saw them laugh together, so happy and so euphoric to see each other once again after nearly a year of separation. His heart ached for Sora, and to be able to laugh along with her.

"What do you mean?" he said, as Yamato broke away from his daze.

She took her hand away and shook her head, then said, "Nevermind." She clutched onto Hawkmon tighter, as he slept off the darkness of the nightmare of his past.

"Nothing has," Koushirou said. "He's been like this since we met up with them."

"What are you two talking about?" Yamato asked, already knowing.

Koushirou smiled, "It's nothing to worry about. Miyako, how much farther?"

"Just over that hill," she said as she pointed forward.

Several minutes passed and Mega Kabuterimon came to a stop in the air, and signaled the other Digimon to come down to the ground along with them. Miyako, who seemed as if she was trying to remember a dream, looked around the forest floor at the base of a large cliff. She was silent as she examined the stone formation, trying her best to remember where what she sought was kept. Hawkmon stayed by her side as she wandered around.

The others only watched as she searched, because they knew less than she did and could have been little help. After ten or so minutes, Miyako held her chest and said to Hawkmon, "Does this look like it?"

He shrugged. "My memory of those times has become gray at best."

She nodded, "I know what you mean." The pain of those times had repressed many memories that only a day ago Miyako or Hawkmon could have recalled with great ease. She then knew how it must have felt like for Ken to come out of his short phase of brainwashed evil. She totally understood now, all that pain he had endured was now a part of herself and Hawkmon. "Try it."

Hawkmon nodded and took the feather from the back of his head and threw it at the collection of rocks before them, saying, "Feather Slash!"

The force of the single feathered attack was enough to break the rock face open and reveal a small empty area within which was only big enough for a small child or Digimon to crawl through. Hawkmon bent down to peer through the hole as Miyako said, "Do you see it?"

"I believe so," he said. "V-mon, if you could help me?"

He nodded and ran up to Hawkmon as he crawled out of the hole.

"There is a container in there," Hawkmon said. "I cannot grab it with my wings, please see if you can pull it out?"

"Sure thing, no problem," he said cooperatively. V-mon crawled in and made his way though the hole. Halfway though he mumbled, "I hope there aren't any spiders in here."

After a few minutes, V-mon returned with the metal container that was now rusted on all its edges. He handed it to Miyako, who took a key from around her neck and struggled to get the lock open. When she succeeded, she smiled to the others and said, "This is it."

She opened the box and took out a set of D-Terminals. "All of your D-Terminals were in my backpack when we tried to go to the Digital World."

She could remember it quite clearly. Her friends had come to her family's store to buy food for the picnic, and they all set their D-Terminals on the counter. They had almost forgotten them, but luckily she placed them in her backpack.

"Ironic, isn't it," she said more to herself then to the others. "I had all these and I was the only one to turn to darkness. They would have done you a lot better then they did to me. I was ordered by my master to hide these here and to never let you find them."

She handed back the devices that looked like hand-held laptop computers to their owners. Taichi, Koushirou, Daisuke, Iori, Hikari, Takeru all took their personal D-Terminals, leaving Miyako one for herself, and one for ken.

"We should probably take that back to him," Jou said. He smiled and said, "At least now we can keep in contact with each other. And your Digimon can Armor Digivolve. Might come in handy sometime."

Miyako flipped hers open, and there on the screen were the two symbols of her two Digimentals that would allow Hawkmon to Armor Digivolve. The Digimentals of Love and Purity, two traits that she could hardly say that she had. She remembered the maps that she used to search through the Digital World that could be seen on her D-Terminal, and apparently now, she had maps of the New World.

"There is a city not far from here," she said. "Maybe we should make a home for ourselves before we go to see Ken."

"I'd really like to change my clothes," Mimi said. She sighed. "We need to get jobs again."

"And then what?" Daisuke asked. "How are we getting home?"

They were silent, looking to the ground.

"You mean we're here forever?!"

"I wish I had my computer," Koushirou sighed.

**

"Little one, you have returned to me!" Flowra exclaimed as she dropped a loaf of bread and ran around to corner to tackle Yamato with a hug. "Oh my, you are hardly a little one anymore," she said as she moved his hair out of his face.

"Hello Miss," he said softly. "As promised, I have returned."

"And you've brought friends," she said with a very large smile.

In the several weeks that followed, the eleven Chosen Children found themselves in the city of Sitka, the place that Yamato had found himself in when he came to that world. It was ironically close to the land that had resided in, and if he had gone towards the north rather than south, he probably would have gotten a signal from her and be capture by her and the others may have never found each other.

Taxes were low and spirits were high throughout their state. Employment was high and so was the pay, as there were many jobs to fill and plenty of people to fill it. It wasn't hard for the children to find a place to live, which was only a block away from Miss Flowra's bakery. It wasn't quite big enough for all the kids and their nine Digimon, but it did make things interesting.

Their home was cozy, a small two level flat with open rooms. A small iron stove was in the corner of the bottom level and a ladder led to the top level. Over the course of their making a home out of the empty building, furniture started to accumulate as their separate jobs started to bring in enough money to purchase things like chairs and tables and mattresses.

It was agreed that the three girls could make use of the top level and the boys would make their home on the ground floor except for Hawkmon, who the girls tolerated in all scenarios. This proved most logical because the boys had no reason to ever go up there and make for any embarrassing moments, as the girls were much more modest than the boys, although sometimes they allowed Takeru to come up and cuddle with Hikari.

Flowra took in Yamato and Taichi to help sell her baked goods and Iori and Miyako to help with the actual baking. She also allowed the Digimon to stay in the attic of her bakery where Yamato once lived during the day while everyone was working. Jou of course became a doctor once again at the local hospital while Daisuke and Takeru became couriers for a small delivery company. Sora started growing flowers once again, and would sell them every Saturday at the weekly market. During the rest of the week, she would work at a small flower shop in the Town Square. Mimi and Hikari also found jobs at the center of the city, waitressing for a small Inn that tended to several guests a night. As for Koushirou, a place in the city's library was open and he spent most of his time reading instead of working.

With life calm and stable, it was decided that it was time to bring Ken home. Or rather, to bring home back to Ken. "Miss," Yamato said one evening. "I and my friends are going to visit a friend of ours."

"Will he be visiting back?" she asked kindly, always ready to greet a new guest.

"We hope so," he said. "If not, then it will be good to see him either way. It shouldn't take more than a week to get there, since we actually know which way to go this time."

"Let me pack you and your friends some food," she said, already standing up from her seat at the counter heading to the back to collect some breads and sweets."

"Please Miss," Yamato pleaded, "it's really not necessary."

"Nonsense," she said from the back of the bakery. She was already getting bags ready for her Yamato and his friends. Yamato smiled at her kindness and figured that he was once the one she saw as her son. She must have been very alone when Yamato left, and now she had enough love to not only give to Yamato, but also all ten of his friends. They were gone by the next day, at the beginning of a new journey, and a new chapter in the challenges of their destiny.

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
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Authors Notes: This was a really short chapter, yes I know, but it serves as transition from the children finding each other to a new story of them finding themsleves. Next chapter up soon I hope.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.  
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**Interwoven Destiny: Chapter Seventeen**

Like before, the boy with dark purple in the air above the great ocean not far from the island named Primary Village. He jumped down from the shoulder of his partner Digimon into the palms of the giant Garudamon exchanging hugs with handshakes with the rest of his long missed friends. All of the children had returned to each other, a feat that not long before had been thought to be impossible.

As always, Ken had his somber thin smile across his face, but they could see the happiness in his eyes. Even his tortured soul could appreciate the goodness of that day. He held onto Daisuke's hands, his own hands almost trembling.

"It has been a long time my friends," he said simply. There were many stories to tell and many words to be exchanged, but all would have to wait until later. Daisuke went with Ken onto Stingmon's shoulders as the rest made their way to the island in quite a convoy. The great red bird, Garudamon, flew carrying Sora, Taichi, Jou, and Mimi, along with their respective Digimon and V-mon. Takeru and Hikari sat atop Holy Dramon's back with Patamon. Yamato, Miyako, Hawkmon, and Koushirou were all on Mega Kabuterimon.

Within a short time they arrived at the island, where everything as was before. The trees were calm and motionless in the serenity of the ocean paradise. Their Digimon reverted, and they all entered the passage to take them to the underground village of baby Digimon. They were greeted by a wave of tiny Digimon, all of different shapes and sizes.

Ken took Iori by the shoulder, as the others entered the main hall. He said, "Iori, it is good to see you." His face was pure and his words were heartfelt.

Iori nodded, and all the deeds of the Digimon Kaizer seemed to pass in that moment. They seemed as if a lifetime ago and Iori could no longer hold those happenings against Ken. He smiled and said, "I am glad to see you, too, Ken."

"There is something I want to show you before we go on with the others."

"What is it?"

He smiled. "Just come with me."

Through passage and passage, they were separated from the others for probably ten or twenty minutes, but Ken was confident that by that time they were probably all playing with the baby Digimon. Wormmon could certainly keep things under control.

"You have done good things here, Ken," Iori said.

"It's a living," he joked. "But I feel that my time here is coming to an end. A new caretaker for the Primary Village will be born soon."

"How can you tell?"

"I'm not really sure, I just get this feeling."

"How will a baby Digimon take over your job?"

Ken chuckled quietly, as was his style. "Caretaker Digimon are destined to be caretakers. They will evolve directly to their Mega levels and take their place with the knowledge and understanding that is required."

"And then you can return with us?"

"Yes, Iori."

They entered a room lit by smaller white crystals embedded into the walls, making the whole room seem to glow. At the end of the small room was a table made of stone and a nest on top of that. An egg sat comfortably in that nest.

"Is that the caretaker Digimon?"

Ken shook his head, and then led Iori to the table. Iori felt a familiar presence as he approached the egg, and he soon understood. This feeling of emptiness in his heart was boiling once again, boiling with hope.

"You have a crest, don't you, Iori?"

He nodded, and took it out from the little bag at his belt he used as a pocket.

"It is the Crest of Justice. Some time ago a light from the Crest of Justice came to primary village and struck a Digiegg. It was this one. From that moment I knew that this egg would be that of your partner Digimon."

Iori's eyes lit up, hearing the words that he was afraid to imagine. "How…how did you know it was from a crest. From _my_ crest?"

"I could feel it. I haven't told any of the others, but ever since I came to this island I have had this strong sense of worth and with it came the power to see what others do not see. I see your Crest of Justice. I see Miyako's Humility. And I see the Miracle that drives Daisuke."

Iori turned to the egg, reaching his hands out to it ready to pick it up. As his hands came closer, the egg began to glow, as did the walls of the room. Iori pressed forward, and the light grew brighter and brighter until he could no longer see Ken or the egg. He grasped the egg and lifted it up, and in a flash the light had faded and the walls were dark. In his hand was a small yellow Digimon with a crest or tail on his head. It blinked for a moment, adjusting his newborn eyes to the light of the room.

"Iori!" he said, very energetically for a newborn.

Iori couldn't speak, but the tears in his eyes and the tightness of his hug was more than enough to say a thousand words.

**

"Okay you dudes, this is how it works," Daisuke to the little Digimon. He held a ball in his hands, made from cloth stuffed with feathers and leaves. He tossed the ball up and kicked it with his knees a few times. "What we do is try to get this ball into Taichis' team's goal. They try to get the ball in our goal. The team that has the most goals wins, okay?"

"Okay, we understand!" cheered the Punymon. They all jumped up in unison cheering.

From across the room, Taichi was standing with his team of Botamon with his arms crossed. "Are we going to play or are we going to dance?"

"You asked for it, man!" Daisuke shouted. He kicked the ball and pointed outward, "Go for it!"

His little army or red Digimon the size of soccer balls ran out with a war-cry for the makeshift ball as the other team did as well. The game was afoot.

Off to the side, Miyako, Sora, and Mimi sat with their legs crossed on the floor with a few stray Yukimibotamon and Pipimon eating some of the cookies that Yamato had brought along. Their own Digimon were off to the side entertaining some other young ones.

"I see you and Taichi are up to it again," Miyako sneered.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked vacantly.

"Don't play dumb," Miyako pressed. "You two have been getting friendly. What about Yamato?"

Sora sighed.

Mimi took a bite from a cookie and smiled. "Sora can never makeup her mind with those two." She laughed. "Popular little slut isn't she?"

Sora and Miyako both gasped and looked sharply at Mimi.

"What?" she said, taking another bite from her cookie. The baby Digimon all erupted in laughter.

Sora's eyes thinned, "And what about you. Toying with poor Jou and Koushirou's heads with your sexual innuendoes. Why don't you just make up your mind about those too?"

The tension in the air rose.

Mimi scoffed, "It's my prerogative."

Miyako collapsed into her arms. "I hate you two. Look at both of you, having two guys swooning over you apiece and me? Me, I'm stuck watching from the sides as all the gorgeous older boys are taken—no—_stolen_."

"There's always Daisuke," Mimi said.

Miyako's eyes thinned behind her glasses and she glared at Mimi with a deathly stare.

"You and Ken have a lot in common, I think," Sora said. "You both have, well…"

"Questionable pasts, yes I know," Miyako said.

"No, Miyako is back to her old self already," said Mimi. "You can hardly tell she was that heartless and evil temptress that tried to kill us all."

Miyako's eyes were almost closed; she glared so hard.

"Either way, I think Taichi is the one for me," Sora sighed as she looked over to the game, where Taichi and Daisuke where on the ground wrestling over the ball as their teams cheered them on. She rolled her eyes and said, "Yep. That's my future husband right there."

Mimi giggled as Taichi yelled, "You bit me you little…!"

**

"So XV-mon was able to evolve to Paildramon alone?" Ken asked.

Koushirou took a sip from the tea that Ken had offered to him. "Yes. Interesting thing, really."

"But Daisuke's crest hasn't been revealed yet, has it?"

Koushirou shook his head. "I think the power that Qinglongmon gave us through his Digicore allowed XV-mon have the power to reach his Ultimate level on his own. That's how us older kids have been able to have our Digimon go to Ultimate."

"But you said that Hawkmon, Armadimon, Patamon, and Gatomon have all been able to reach Mega alone, already."

"I've been thinking about that. With the power of the Digicore, their Digimon would have the ability to reach Ultimate alone as well. Aquilamon and Ankylomon would no longer need Gatomon or Angemon to evolve to Silphymon or Shakkoumon anymore. But both Miyako and Iori displayed Crests. I believe the power of their Crests gave their Digimon the power boost to reach their Mega forms."

"What about Takeru and Hikari?"

"They were given an external power source from levitation crystals that float in the skies of this planet. Given their power and the legends behind them, I think that these crystals might actually be Digicores from other great Digimon from the past. They allowed Gatomon and Patamon to reach their Mega levels."

Ken took out his Crest from his pocket and rubbed his thumb across the top. "So it's possible for Stingmon to go to Ultimate as well, and even Mega?"

"Yes, but let's hope he won't have to," Koushirou joked.

"What about you older kids?"

"I suppose if it were ever necessary, we could harvest more levitation crystals to make our Digimon evolve to Mega. I really hope that won't be necessary. Think about what kind of enemy we'd have to battle if we needed to have 12 Mega Digimon."

Ken frowned. "Eleven, Koushirou."

Koushirou set his tea down and held his fist. "Right, eleven. How stupid of me."

"Can I get you more tea?"

**

It would have been a great visit to the village. It would have been a simple coming of friends who for so long went without each other. But to have so would be too simple. In the life of a Digidestined, one must always remember there will be darkness before the dawn.

Gatomon awoke in a sweaty haze from her deep sleep. She looked around herself to see Patamon next to her with his wings folded and tucked closely to his body, and then onto Hikari who lay wrapped in Takeru's arms. The four of them all slept under the stars that night, while everyone else stayed below ground. They were cold-fearing, and not compelled by the romanticism of the starry night.

Gatomon became tense and shivered, not from cold, but from on unseen fear. She looked around timidly; the trees were still and only the sound of the beach could be audible. For several minutes she sat wit her eyes meandering from one movement to the other, but seeing nothing.

And then she heard it, the laugh.

It was loud enough to awake Takeru and Hikari. Patamon needed nudging from Gatomon before his slumber was interrupted. They all sat silently, hearing the laughter of something large, and something evil.

Then, as if bursting from the clouds themselves, he stood there, a testament of the Old World. He was taller than most buildings of their own time. Tall and dark and evil, with his huge long claws that reached down to his feet. He stood above the water, not touching its surface.

Hikari screamed and Takeru held her tightly as Gatomon yelled and pointed out to sea, "Venom Vamdemon!"

"It can't be the same one!" Patamon cried. "Can it?"

"I don't know," Gatomon said, "but this one is just as evil. Gatomon Warp Digivolve to…Holy Dramon!"

"Patamon Warp Digivolve to…Seraphimon!"

The two angels took to the air after telling Hikari and Takeru to get the others before it was too late. They mixed few words once in the air as the Venom Vamdemon swung his arms towards them screaming a bloody scream.

He was quite larger than they were, but hopefully their type advantage would be enough to defeat the Digimon of darkness. They took their ground, side-by-side, and focused their attacks together.

"Holy Flame!"

"Testament!"

The two attacks hit his swinging arm, but were only strong enough to push it away with little damage. His great size was only a hit to his power as their following attacks were barely enough to keep him at bay before the other's emerged from the tunnels sleepily and unaware at the danger.

"No way," Taichi mumbled to himself. "Agumon, Digivolve!"

"Right," he said. The little orange Digimon soon became a very large orange Digimon, and then onto a much larger orange Digimon with cyborg implants. This great dinosaur/cyborg took to the air to aid the two angels.

Daisuke and Ken followed suit and soon Paildramon and Stingmon were in the air. Ken found it strange to see them fighting alongside each other, as did Daisuke. Zudomon crashed into the ocean and swam his way towards Venom Vamdemon, as Lillymon followed him closely in the air.

"Hawkmon," Miyako said. "I think it's time. Do you think you can evolve to your Mega form?"

He nodded, and jumped into the air. As he flapped his wings hard to make his way to the fight, he yelled, "Hawkmon Warp Digivolve to…"

His body glowed in red and he soon took the form of a great horned eagle with majestic wings, then to the shape of an man with the attributes of a bird. The man-bird stopped in the air and crossed his arms and then threw them outwards again, as if to tear away the skin of his former self. He grew twice in size, and sprouted a great cape of giant feathers. His body became covered in a white down and armor. A golden eagle stood on his shoulder, as he brandished his shining sword.

"…Valkyrimon!" He held his sword tightly, and went into battle.

The 12 children stood on the beach watching in silence. They watched as their partner Digimon struggled to defeat yet another enemy. Iori stood by Jou holding onto Upamon who had Digivolved after eating a large meal.

"Iori, you have to let me help them," Upamon whined.

"Don't be silly, Upamon," Iori said. "You aren't strong enough yet, you were only born yesterday."

"Please Iori!" Already in Iori's arms was Upamon glowing, and in a flash he became Armadimon and the weight of the hard-shelled Digimon was too much for Iori to carry. "I can't just sit by!"

Iori considered their options, and looked up to the fight. The flying Digimon all circled around Venom Vamdemon like flies in comparison in size, each using their attacks one by one, some in twos. He seemed to be somewhat weakened. He then looked to Jou, who nodded at him. Armadimon was in no way strong enough to become Shakkoumon yet, so he took out his D-3.

"Digimental Up!" Iori shouted.

"Armadimon Armor Digivolve to…Whirling with Faithfulness, Submarimon!" In a splash, the submersible Digimon was gone in the water, heading towards the battle.

"Good luck, Submarimon."

The battle raged for near an hour, bringing both sides to a near stalemate. Venom Vamdemon was nearly beat, but the same went for the eleven Digimon of the Chosen Children. The day was breaking and the red sun of the dawn appeared over the horizon; the straight line of water. No one was quite sure how the battle would end up, but each of the Digimon was showing the wounds of the fight.

Ken watched as Stingmon used his Spiking Finish attack on Venom Vamdemon, only to be hit hard with his elongated arms. He hit the surface of the water creating a wave and loud splash.

"Stingmon!" Ken shouted from the beach.

But the water exploded in white light, and what appeared from the surface of the water was a mutant Digimon that resembled Paildramon with attributes of both Stingmon and XV-mon, but in an inverted fashion. He had the blue dragon arms and legs of XV-mon, but the body and wings and head of Stingmon, along with two additional insect arms at the waste.

The creature flew through the air like a over energetic wasp, taking shots at Venom Vamdemon's body from all directions, striking at the arms first and then the torso. Then finally to the head, he slashed at the face with his claws and then kicked across the forehead, leaving gaping wounds across the monster's face.

Seraphimon and Holy Dramon said something to each other that couldn't be heard from the beach. The two nodded to each other and then bolted into the air in a straight line. Through the clouds they went, until they could no longer be seen.

"It looks as if your friends have abandoned you!" Venom Vamdemon spouted.

"Where the heck do they think they're going!?" Daisuke shouted.

Hikari and Takeru looked to each other and smiled, as two meteors of light came from the sky and struck Metal Greymon and Paildramon, forcing them to evolve to their highest forms.

"Paildramon Mega Digivolve to…Imperial Dramon!"

"Metal Greymon Mega Digivolve to….War Greymon!"

The dragon-man was much smaller than the cyborg dragon that he evolved from, but his attack more than enough made up for so. He raised his arms into the air and in a earsplitting scream he shouted, "Gaia Force!"

The red fireball much larger than himself struck Venom Vamdemon in the chest and forced him to the water, creating tidal waves which died down by the time they reached the beach. The great and fearsome dragon, Imperial Dramon, hovered above Venom Vamdemon, and after gathering power from the energy around him, the canon on his back powered up.

"Positron Laser!" he shouted. A beam of red light followed by swirling blue beams came from the canon and struck Venom Vamdemon in the water followed by shouts of pain.

The white warrior bird appeared next to Imperial Dramon, who in comparison was much larger. Valkyrimon took his sword from his belt and held it high above his head before he threw it at the body in the water like a bolt of lightning, yelling, "Fenrir Sword!"

Holy Dramon and Seraphimon returned, adding their attacks to the volley, followed by Mega Kabuterimon, Lillymon, Garudamon, Submarimon, and the Ultimate form of Stingmon. The attacks of the five mega Digimon along with the four Ultimates and the one Armor was enough to finally destroy Venom Vamdemon as his data erupted in an explosion and soon dissipated.

The 12 children sighed and relaxed, leaning against each other after having to stand for so long in a terrified daze. Upamon, Koromon, Chibimon, and Poromon, and returned to the children in their In-Training forms and hopped into their partner's arms. The rest of the Digimon reverted to their Rookie forms, minus Gatomon who remained in her champion form.

The Stingmon Ultimate flew down from the sky and landed in the water in front of the beach. He was as tall as a building, much like Paildramon. He nodded to the group and said, "Ken, are you hurt?"

He shook his head and smiled, "Don't worry, I am fine…" pausing as he wondered what he should call his new Digimon.

"Dinobeemon," the Digimon said simply. The sunlight shined brightly now from behind Dinobeemon, making it hard to look directly at him. Ken, however, could not take his eyes off his newest friend. He nodded to Dinobeemon, who glowed and reverted back to Minomon, his In-Training form that jumped into Ken's arms.

But in the sunlight, they did not see the data return to form itself again in the sky. The form was much smaller than before and was formed before the Chosen Children realized what had happened. The creature that seemed to stand in the air was much smaller than Venom Vamdemon. His entire body was quite different from Venom Vamdemon's, this one silver with dark blue wings. But the head, the head remained the same, short of the longer and uglier red mask.

The children stood in silence, because they knew none of their Digimon had the strength that was needed to fight another Digimon. But who was this incarnation of Vamdemon? Was he a higher evolution, possibly past Mega? Was it possible?

"Foolish children," he bellowed. "I am Belial Vamdemon, that which will end all of your lives, for it is my mission to not fail. The powers of darkness seek to have you destroyed for your abandonment from them."

"Does he mean us?" Miyako said to Ken.

"I don't know, he makes no sense," Ken said.

"Melting Blood!" the monster shouted. His arms spread wide, and from his shoulders which resembled heads of demons, a red wave of energy came forward in their direction.

"Everyone get down!" Jou shouted.

`Ken threw himself to the sand, holding onto Minomon as tight as possible, before he noticed a tiny red baby Digimon emerge from the gate of the village. "Get back inside, hurry!" he shouted.

The little red Digimon jumped forward passed the children, and Ken couldn't see where he went because he dug his face into the sand preparing for the blast that would most likely kill them all.

But they were never hit.

Ken sat up and gasped to what he saw, as did the others. The tiny red Digimon was gone, and in his place there stood a massive red Digimon that resembled a knight from stories of medieval earth. His huge cape waved in the wind of the early morning, as he held a javelin in front of him, which might have taken the full blast of Belial Vamdemon's attack.

"I am Dukemon," he said. "Highest of the Royal Knights of this world, sent to protect the rookery of Digital life, life that you seek to destroy. I cannot allow that."

He jumped into the air, soaring at a hundred miles an hour with his cape violently shaking in the air. Belial Vamdemon was struck without any reaction, as Dukemon crashed into him with such ferocity and speed. The javelin went straight through his chest, and without so much as a scream, his body shattered into data, and this time for good.

The knight returned to the beach, hovering over the water.

"Ken Ichijouji," he said. "You have done well in your time here, and you deserve a rest. I have come to take your place as Caretaker of the Digital Rookery."

He nodded. "I sensed your coming."

"You are special, Ken Ichijouji. I wish you luck to you and your friends. But, I bring you a message."

"A message?"

"Yes. The powers that seek to destroy you are not that of this world. They come from the inside."

"The inside of what?"

"It is not clear, but the danger is not of this world. You have been sent to us, Digidestined, to end this darkness. The bitterness and the fate of this world is in your hands, and your hands alone, Digidestined. Remember it well, you are our last hope."

  


**{ to be continued... }**

  
****

Authors Notes: Hey! I'm still alive. Its been a long time coming, but I finally wrote another chapter of this story. Coolies, ne? Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm summing up this story in two more chapters, so stay tuned, I guess.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen  
  
  
With the gallant Dukemon watching over the Primary Village, Ken said his goodbyes to his young friends and left the island sitting atop his Stingmon. The group was nearly whole, as they soared silently but quickly over the ocean back to what they would then begin to consider their home. Thoughts of the old world began to dwindle from the minds of the Chosen Children, as life in the New Digital World didn't seem all that bad.  
  
With them, they carried the cryptic message given to them by Dukemon; the powers that seek to destroy you are not that of this world; they come from the inside.  
  
Yamato stared lifelessly across the ocean as the sun began to set across the horizon. The pain within his heart ached with increasing intensity as he contemplated the meaning of the message. He knew all too clearly what it truly meant, and thus he knew that time was running out.  
  
Gabumon was now his enemy.  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
For nearly a year, the twelve children scoured the land searching for their lost friend. They waited for any sign, even if it were an attack from the one they were searching for. Hopes began to thin, as no activity from the side of darkness appeared in even the faintest form. The group began to grow thin, as responsibilities and personal circumstances began to wear away the bond that the eight shared. It is not to say that they completely gave up on each other or on the lost Digimon, but the way in which they went about it was now different.  
  
Koushirou returned to his scholar city, where he would work with the greatest minds of the world to help find a way for him and the others to bring order to the world, and perhaps a way back to their own. Ken went alongside Koushirou to make his own name within that city as a great mind and worked hard alongside him long lost friend. Mimi and Miyako also ventured to that city with Koushirou and Ken, making sure the two of them wouldn't lose themselves in books and constant intellectual debate.  
  
Takeru and Hikari returned to their kingdom, greeted with nothing but smiles and hugs by the queen. As the attacks from the forces of darkness had not occurred for so long, they deemed it safe to return to their former home so that they may use their resources to help find the others. Within their hierarchy, Iori and Jou remained by their sides as advisors to the royal family. Upon their return, Takeru and Hikari were wed and crowned King and Queen before their new kingdom and all their old friends.  
  
As for Daisuke, Sora, Taichi, and Yamato, the four of them all remained with Flowra, providing much needed help within her bakery. From time to time, two or three of them would go at a time to venture the land to search for Gabumon in person rather than rely on the work of Takeru and Hikari's military. Each time, Yamato would lead hoping that his connection to Gabumon would be the key to their reunion. But that connection never proved fruitful, as Gabumon remained just out of reach. Unfortunately, there was an entire continent across the ocean that they were unable to search.  
  
Rivalries within the world itself had grown to an alarming extent. Factions had grown to encompass two major groups. One side was essentially led by Takeru and Hikari's kingdom of Qualaria. In their short time as mutual rulers of the kingdom, the two had been able to form many alliances across the continent and gained power through good intentions and kind hearts. On the other side of the ocean, and opposing kingdom was doing the exact opposite, gaining forces through coup de tat, assassinations, and hostile takeovers. The malicious forces of Terrela were becoming a threat to the well being of the kind and fair kingdom of Qualaria and the kingdoms below it. As each day went by, rumors and fears of war spread across the continent like wild fire. It was certainly a time of unrest for the Chosen Children, along with the world around them.  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
Jou was shuffling through scrolls and papers shaking his head. He looked up to Hikari and Takeru who sat across the table from him. "According to these latest intelligence reports, the entire continent is now under Terrelan control."  
  
The world was essentially split into two equal continents, with small island countries in between the two.  
  
Takeru sighed. "I think war is inevitable at this point. Jou, please send out a proclamation to the other kingdoms to mobilize their forces just in case. Also, could you have the diplomats arrange a summit with kingdoms still outside the kingdom? We need all the allies we can get should the Terrelan's decide to expand their territory to world domination. Tell them we don't want to take over them, just rally forces together onto one cooperative side."  
  
"Alright," Jou nodded. "I think we should have the others brought here, Taichi and them. It might be wise to stick together at this point, and aid in incoming battles should they arise."  
  
Hikari nodded. "I'll email them and arrange to have them brought here. Good thinking, Jou."  
  
"Well, I _am_ your advisor," Jou smirked, adjusting his glasses. "I'll go and get to those matters." He stood up and left the king and queen alone in their conferencing chamber.  
  
Hikari stood up and walked towards the open window, gazing out onto the city. She thought how hard it was to believe that in such good times of peace, across the ocean and horrible evil was fuming and ready to attack. Takeru walked up behind her and placed his hands on her hips, and asked her what was on her mind.  
  
"Same old," she said. "I don't want this war."  
  
"No one does," Takeru said. "I can't help but wondering who's behind that kingdom. It could be-"  
  
"Don't think about it," she interjected. "I know we all have the same person in mind, but its too terrible to think about." She turned to look Takeru in the eyes, leaning her back against the rail surrounded by his arms. "I won't believe that its true."  
  
"But what if it is? What will we do then?" he whispered.  
  
Takeru leaned his forehead against Hikari's. "It's up to my brother to reach him."  
  
She hugged her husband tightly. "What if he can't do it?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
  
  
  
author's comments: I know it's been a long time (almost two years) but im back more or less. Anyway, yeah these two newest chapters I've written are weak. It's been a long time. 


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen  
  
  
Yamato poked at his potatoes with his fork as he looked up at Sora. She smiled at him as she nibbled on her piece of bread. The two of them lived together with Flowra while Taichi and Daisuke lodged together in a small apartment down the street, providing the in house help that Flowra needed. It was unexpected that she would ask Sora to live with herself and Yamato, but in the end they all stood to benefit. Sora grew flowers and sold them within the bakery and provided help to Yamato and Flowra with the selling and baking of the bread. There was only room for the three, so Taichi and Daisuke found jobs elsewhere, while still lending a helping had with the others now and then.  
  
"Do you want to go see Taichi and Daisuke tonight?" Sora asked.  
  
Yamato shook his head. "I feel like staying in tonight. You can go without me."  
  
"No, I'll keep you company," she said softly. She smiled and watched Yamato as he played with his food. "Maybe I'd rather spend the evening with you anyway."  
  
"Why do you lead me on like that?" Yamato asked. "Aren't you and Taichi sleeping together?"  
  
Sora glared at him and looked out the window, "He's too childish."  
  
Yamato rolled his eyes. "And the real reason would be?"  
  
"I hate playing these games with him," she complained. "I've told him time and time again that I my feelings for him. It just doesn't get through all that hair."  
  
"Maybe he doesn't like you," Yamato teased.  
  
After a year, the relationship that developed between the three friends was a bit stretched and confused at best. Sora and Taichi had developing feelings ever since they met, but coming to this new Digital World presented a bond between Sora and Yamato. Upon the reunion of the three, Sora's feelings had been torn between the two. She was more open with Yamato at this point, having been living with him and dealing with him longer in this new environment. Her feelings for Yamato had grown beyond romantic affection, and she now saw him as a close friend, possibly the closest.  
  
"Did he say he didn't want a relationship?" Yamato asked?  
  
She sighed. "He might as well have. He goes, 'I think it's better we wait until everything calms down'." She rolled her eyes and said, "How much calmer could it get. TK and Kari are already married and he can't even take me out to dinner?"  
  
From downstairs Flowra yelled up to the two, "I'm going out to play cards with the girls tonight young ones! Don't wait up!"  
  
"Alright ma'am!" Yamato shouted back. "Don't lose too much money!"  
  
"Define too much!" She chuckled and then left the house. Yamato could faintly hear the bell chime as the door closed behind her.  
  
"So what are you going to do with Tai," Yamato questioned.  
  
"Nothing. I don't get him anymore. He's changed since we came to this stupid world."  
  
"We all changed."  
  
"Most of us have all changed for the better. He's gone through a cycle of increased stupidity."  
  
"I think you're making too much out of this. You two always do that."  
  
"Since when!?"  
  
Yamato coughed, "Hairclip."  
  
Her eyes instantly thinned, "I told you never to mention that."  
  
Yamato made his voice higher to tease Sora, "Oh no the world is coming to and end, oh wait, Tai gave me a hairclip and doesn't like my hair, oh damn the whole world! The world is truly coming to an end! What evil Digimon? Hairclip!"  
  
Sora stood up and started to walk away from the table before Yamato got up and grabbed her by the arm. "Hey, I was just teasing."  
  
She refused to turn to look at him, as Yamato saw tears fall from her face to the floor.  
  
"Hey," he whispered. "Stop, I was just kidding."  
  
She turned and threw herself to Yamato. Confused, he hugged her gently and asked her what she was really crying about.  
  
Through her tears, she said, "I don't think I love him anymore."  
  
"Why are you crying because of that?"  
  
"Don't you get it?" she snapped. "I fell for him the way he use to be. It just shows how different we all are now. None of us are the way we use to be. We're completely different people because of this stupid world. We've all been through so much, and for the ones like Tai, he's been particularly hurt. I can't be with him the way he is now. I can't live up to what he wants from me."  
  
He hugged her tighter as she started to cry more.  
  
"Do you remember the day before we came to this world?" Yamato asked.  
  
She looked up at him. "Why?"  
  
"You brought me cookies before a concert. You asked me if I wanted to do anything with you afterwards."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"We never got to go out on that date," he said.  
  
"It wasn't going to be a date," she sneered.  
  
"Didn't you decide long ago that you didn't want to be with Tai?"  
  
"But when I saw him again here, he looked so different, but I could still see the Taichi that I use to know."  
  
"You aren't making any sense. You like him, you don't like him, you like him, and then you don't."  
  
"I know it doesn't make any sense, but now," she gazed deep into Yamato's eyes, "now things are starting to make sense." Her lips were nearly touching Yamato's as her eyes shut and her eyelashes tickled the side of Yamato's cheek.  
  
"And what's that," Yamato whispered, holding her closer to his body.  
  
"You..."  
  
Sora held onto Yamato tightly wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her face against his chest. They stood for a long moment in each other's arms listening to the sound of each other's breaths and the beating of their hearts. After several minutes she started to let go of Yamato, softly pushing him away. She left Yamato standing in that room as she made her way for the hallway that led down to her bedroom.  
  
"Where are you going?" Yamato asked.  
  
"Going to go get ready for bed," she said, holding onto the doorframe. She coaxed him to follow her. "You should get ready too."  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
Moonlight poured into the dark bedroom over Yamato's eyes. It was the middle of the night and the house was silent, as was the town that surrounded it. Fall had settled in and the air was crisp in the world where central heating didn't exist. He pulled the blanket up closer to his body, while at the same time covering up Sora so that the cold would not break her sleep. He watched his breath steam against the moonlight.  
  
He gave a deep sigh and looked upon Sora affectionately, and put an arm around her, resting his head against hers. He couldn't believe what they had done that evening and wondered what sort of consequences would come from it. He closed his eyes and wondered what the others would think. Most of all, he wondered what Taichi would think.  
  
Trying to rationalize his actions, Yamato reflect on how Taichi seemed to show no strong feelings for Sora in the way of a relationship. Taichi told everyone about the girl he really fell in love with, a princess that died because of his actions, or rather, his inactions. The guilt within Taichi must have been great, but a great deal of it was never seen. Whenever Taichi spoke of those times, which was rare in itself, there was always a somber look in his eyes. But then just as quickly as his face became sad, he finished his story and went back to his old self. Was he hiding his feelings for Sora the same way he hid his sadness for that forgotten princess?  
  
There was a loud knocking at the door. Yamato sat up in bed and grabbed a shirt and stumbled to get a pair of pants on. Sora sat herself up in bed holding the blanket to her chest. "What's that?" she asked.  
  
"Some moron," Yamato sneered.  
  
He heard the door chime ring as the door opened in the store. "Yamato! Sora! Where are you?" Daisuke yelled out.  
  
Sora giggled. "You weren't that far off."  
  
Yamato winked at her and ran downstairs to see what Daisuke wanted. He sleepily rubbed his eyes as he entered the store, trying to adjust to the light that Daisuke was holding. "What do you want?"  
  
"I just got an email from Jou," he said. "He wants us all to go to Qualaria. Takeru and Hikari think that a wars going to start up soon."  
  
"Right now?"  
  
"Well not right now, but soon."  
  
Yamato's eyes thinned as he said, "Then why did you come here in the middle of the night to tell us?"  
  
Sora came to the door wearing a robe. "Daisuke, when will you grow up?"  
  
"I'm plenty grown," he complained. "Get your things packed. Tai wants to leave tomorrow morning."  
  
Yamato rolled his eyes. "It's tomorrow morning right now."  
  
"Well just get ready," Daisuke said.  
  
"Fine, see you in the morning," Yamato said, waving Daisuke off and heading back down the hall.  
  
"Get some rest Daisuke," Sora said, as she started walking down the hall following Yamato.  
  
Daisuke made his way outside the bakery. Shivering, he held his arms tightly and watched the steam come from his breath. On the second level of the bakery, someone lit a lamp and through the curtains Daisuke could see the silhouettes of two people in the same room.  
  
He blinked a few times as he watched the two shadows. He watched one of them disrobe as the other one pushed the first down onto the bed, followed by the lamp being blown out and darkness returning to the room.  
  
"That's," Daisuke mumbled to himself, "out of the ordinary."  
  
Blinking a few more times, Daisuke shook it off and started walking down the street. It was well passed midnight and the town was silent and sleeping. Not a lamp for a mile was lit as he paced himself slowly down the block. He walked passed a small park and then made his way to the apartment complex where he and Taichi lived.  
  
_I didn't see what I think I saw. Did I?_  
  
He quietly made his way up the steps to his flat. Stopping in front of the door he held his fist tightly and wondered if what he saw was real. He wondered if it was just his imagination jumping to conclusions.  
  
_Maybe they were playing a game, or rehearsing a play, or something._  
  
His left eyebrow rose as he realized how stupid that sounded. Daisuke pushed the door open to see Taichi running back and forth through the small apartment gathering his belongings and packing them up.Agumon sat on the kitchen table watching Taichi while V-mon was asleep in a washbasin.  
  
"Tai..." Daisuke mumbled.  
  
"Did you go tell them?" Taichi asked, holding onto a pile of clothing.  
  
"Yeah," he said. "Um..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
Standing outside the door in the pitch-black hallway, Taichi stood with his fists clenched tightly. Had he not been wearing gloves, his fingernails would have easily cut through the skin of his palms. Biting his lower lip, he stood and listened to the sound of rustling and giggling from behind the door that stood before him.  
  
He wasn't feeling rage, nor was he insane with jealousy. All that surged through his blood was sadness and pain. He took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob, stopping only an inch away from it. A tear fell from his eye as he shook his head and covered his face with his other hand.  
  
He turned and started walking down the hall, stopping to look back at the two pairs of slippers at the foot of the door. Taking a deep breath, he left the bakery through the back door, the same in which he came, so as not to ring the chime.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
author's comments: what happened to ff.net?! i can't format ANYTHING it seems :T 


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